Ten Aurors of destiny
by Little Lotte Daae
Summary: Hi people! this is NOT FLUFF between Harry and the new gir! this is my first fanfic, & its basically the IDEAL story of anyone who has wanted to be inside the Harry Potter books! Please read and Review! Flames ok, as long as u tell me y u're flaming me :)
1. ~the beginning (oooooo)~

(A/N) Hi everyone! I've almost finished with this story, but I don't want to post the rest until I'm sure you guys like it! So review, please! Also, none of the characters belong to me…sigh… Oh, except for me. I belong to me. Or do I belong to my parents? Whatever, I just know that I DO NOT belong to J.K. Rowling! Or do I? Cuz her daughter's name is Jessica and so is mine, so what if we were switched at birth? (twilight zone music) Oooooo. Oh well, go ahead try and sue me for stealing characters, but all you're gonna get is 12 cents from a very confused girl! (  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
This whole situation started relatively normally. But then, don't they all start that way? It was just another holiday, it doesn't matter which one in particular, all that does matter is our entire family was gathered at my grandfather's house. It was after we had eaten dinner, when the object that would alter my life was introduced to me. It had started innocently enough, my aunt, recalling the short-lived book club we had started, had suggested that I look into a certain book. The name of this book was Harry Potter. She knew that I had always been fascinated by tales of mythological beasts and wizards, and after talking to a few people who had read the book, she decided it was perfect for me. I had personally been looking for a book to indulge my spare time in, so I accepted the offer and agreed to read the book. I am writing this story to inform all of you of the strange happenings that took place after reading this book. A wise man once stated that books could quite possibly be "doorways into parallel universes". I am here to confirm this statement. If you are not willing to believe the unbelievable then there is no point in you reading any further. I cannot blame you for wanting to remain in your sheltered world, I wish that I could have. However, my mind will never let me forget what I have seen, so I must inform the world. All of those that I can persuade to believe the truth, must be notified immediately. I will now share my story with everyone, and I beg you to consider this…Do you really believe that we are the only species of human in all the planets, in all the galaxies, in all the universes? Sometimes all you need to believe is a little bit of magic.  
  
  
  
"Hi, …um, is John there?" She fought to keep her voice steady. She knew how insane his father was about girls calling his son. There was no logical reason for this. John was a straight-A student, captain of the basketball team, member of the prom court two years running, and as far as she knew he'd never had a girlfriend, but she guessed some parents will never let their kids become adults.  
  
There was silence for a moment, and then a gruff voice answered, "Is this Jessica?"  
  
"Yes, sir." she replied, crossing my fingers. She really needed to talk to John this time, and if she couldn't persuade his father to give him the phone…..  
  
More silence followed my statement. Then, "Just a second." She heard a muffled voice scream "JOHN!!!" and a moment later, someone else picked up the phone.  
  
"Hey, Jess". John answered. She guessed he grown accustomed to her being the only one who called him.  
  
"Hey, John. Listen I need to talk to you about the English project we're doing. Have you started researching Benedict Arnold yet?" There was a note of impatience in her voice that she knew she should have held back. John thrived on irritable people. He said they made him feel more in- control.  
  
"Oh yeah, I started research just this morning. I had one of those for breakfast." He laughed at his own joke while she shook her head into the phone.  
  
"That's Eggs Benedict, you idiot. Look, it's not funny. We almost failed last time because we kept procrastinating when we knew the due date was getting closer."  
  
Slowly and reluctantly he came down for his laughing state. "Alright, I'm sorry. I'll get cracking right away. Get it? Cracking? Eggs?" He laughed even harder that before.  
  
She decided it was time to pull out the big guns. "You know," She said slowly, imagining the look on his face, "It seems to me like you don't really care about this grade. Like you don't care about any of your grades for that matter."  
  
He stopped laughing almost immediately. "You know that's not true," he said. She did know that it wasn't true. She also happened to know that grades were one of the few things that really mattered to John. He was determined to go to an Ivy League College, even though he didn't have much money. He was depending entirely upon his grades to get him a full scholarship. Although, once she convinced him that it was always a good idea to have an alternate plan, he took up basketball. Once discovering that he was really good at it, he starting thinking about the possibility of a sports scholarship. This is the reason that he has never missed a day of school, or a minute of basketball practice.  
  
"You're right. I know that's not true. But our teacher doesn't. Mr. Elithab doesn't know anything about your plan. He judges you one the work you hand in, and that's supposed to make you want to hand in only your best work. So, I think we should stop messing around right now, and get down to business before we get any further behind schedule. Ok?"  
  
He heaved a deep sigh and relented, "Fine."  
  
She smiled at her ingenious persuasive powers. Everyone always told her that she should be on the debate team, but she always told them she didn't want to have to wake up every Saturday at 6 o'clock in the morning for the competitions.  
  
"All right. I guess I'd better be going. Don't forget to start working on that report," she said with a stern note in her voice.  
  
"Aye, aye, captain," he said. He was back to his old, idiotic self again. Which she guessed wasn't so bad, after all.  
  
She smiled into the phone and said, "Ar, matey. I'll see you later." She could hear him laughing as she hung up. Still smiling to herself, she turned away from the phone and saw a book on her bed. She stood for a moment, wondering what book she had left there. When she still couldn't guess, she walked over to her bed a picked it up. Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire, it said. Of course, she thought, I'm so stupid. She knew what it was. She smacked herself lightly on the forehead and turned to the bookcase to put it away. Somehow this act seemed familiar. She froze as she realized that she had put the book away no less than five minutes ago, and she hadn't touched it since. She frowned and tried to figure out how it had gotten back on to her bed. Shrugging, she guessed that maybe her sister had come into her room and played around with her books.  
  
She slid the book back on to the shelf, not realizing that she had been in her room the entire time since she had first put it away. She yawned and stretched. Checking the clock, she noticed that it was 11:30 at night. No wonder John's father had been reluctant to give him the phone, she thought, he probably thought I was some "late night service" calling for his son. Chuckling to herself, she began to look in her drawers for her pajama bottoms and a reasonable T-shirt. Unfortunately, the only article of nighttime clothing that she could find was her old nightshirt. She sighed and pulled it on. As she was pulling her hair back into her traditional ponytail, the phone rang.  
  
"Hello?" she said, accidentally pulling her hair on the collar of her nightshirt.  
  
"Hi Jess, it's just me again," came John's voice.  
  
"John!" She said, not troubling to hide her exasperation at this point, "It's almost midnight, can't you wait until tomorrow to torment me some more?"  
  
"Actually, I was wondering if you would like to go with me to the Sweethearts dance?" he said, and she could actually hear him turning red.  
  
"Oh," was all she said. She was more than a little taken aback by the question. "Well, sure, I guess. Yes, I'd like to go with you," she finished shakily.  
  
"Great!" he said, and she could hear the tremendous relief in his voice, "Ok, well, I'll see you at school tomorrow then. Bye, Jess."  
  
"Bye, John," she said. She was privately very happy that she had been asked, especially by John, whom she was starting to really like. She smiled to herself and climbed in to bed. Lying there, she started to become very excited about the dance. She would have to go and pick out her dress, and then her shoes. It was going to be so much fun. Unfortunately, all the excitement had left her unable to sleep. She decided to try reading a book, because that usually helped her sleep. Scanning her bookshelf for a good choice, her eyes fell upon the Harry Potter book. Why not?, she thought to herself. Maybe she'd impress her aunt by telling her that she read the whole thing in one night. She took it back to her bed, and sprawled out comfortably, she began to read. She found that she couldn't put it down. It was so interesting. Finally at three o'clock in the morning, she finished it. She pulled it away from her face and sat up. Gazing at the cover, she noticed a small black spot on the bottom left hand corner of the front. She reached up to brush it off. The moment she touched the book, she felt a jerk somewhere behind her navel, and next thing she knew, she was falling into a black abyss.  
  
  
  
Ohh and I know what some of yall are thinking, and trust me, this is NOT going to be a romance between Harry and this Jessica character…I think. ( 


	2. ~the shock of a lifetime~

Boom. She hit the ground with a wet smack. She lay for a moment, face down in the grass, with not a thought in her head except the dim revelation that she smelled dirt. Lifting her head the slightest bit off the ground, Jessica gazed blearily through a gap in her arms. She saw nothing but acres of grass, a small cabin close by, and what appeared to be a large mansion in the distance. She closed her eyes again, the pain of the impact apparently fresh in her mind. She lay for a while, one slow thought chasing another around inside her head, until a loud hoot that came from an owl somewhere nearby brought her to her senses. Her head jerked off the ground and she realized she was alone. Sitting up slowly and painfully to try and get a better look around, she suddenly realized that she had no idea where she was. She had no recollection of ever being here. The very thought made her shudder in spite of herself. She looked down, massaging her head where she had landed, and noticed that she was still wearing her nightshirt. Little birds of panic began to flap their wings hysterically in her stomach. She was alone, she didn't know where she was, and she had nothing with her except for the clothes on her back, which happened to be nothing more than a nightshirt.  
  
At that moment, she saw a candle flicker somewhere inside the cabin. She watched, terrified, as the back door creaked open and out walked a man who looked like he was part giant. The bulky frame moved outside and shut the door, carrying a candle with it. It started to walk toward her, and she had just heard a gruff voice call out, "Who's there? I know yer in here. S'no good hidin'," before she felt her head hit the ground as she fainted.  
  
"She musta had a nasty fall. Don' know how she got here tho'. S'got a funny feelin to it, don' it? Well I s'pose I best ter be takin her up to the castle so Dumbledore can get a good look at her."  
  
Jessica lay still for a moment. Groggy and exhausted, she considered lying in this warm, comfortable bed for the rest of time. But then memories started flooding in. The fall. The owl. The candle. The giant. The voice. That voice which she was hearing right now. It seemed familiar. And then, in a rush of anxiety, it dawned on her. This voice was the same one she had heard last night. It belonged to that giant. Which meant………She scrambled as she sat up, clutching the quilt on the bed close to her. Looking around, her first thought was that she had been shrunk. She was inside what appeared to be a perfectly ordinary cabin, except for the fact that everything seemed to be enlarged to five times it normal size. The table in the center of the room was roughly the size of a double bed, and the bed on which she was currently sitting looked like a baby elephant could have slept in it with no comfort problems. As she gazed unbelievingly at the super-sized furniture, she saw what had to be the giant, leaning out of the window and explaining something very serious to a short, plump little woman who was wearing robes of midnight black and an expression of utmost shock.  
  
"Of course, you're right, Hagrid. Take her straight to Dumbledore. This could be Dark Magic at its most advanced stages," the little woman looked and spoke as though she were halfway between shock and curiosity.  
  
"Ah, now," said the giant, "I don' think this little one s'got anything ter do with Dark Magic or You-Know-Who. In fact, I don' know what I think no more," he continued gently, "I s'pose I'll take her ter Dumbledore soon as she's awake."  
  
"Very well, then. Good day to you, Hagrid," and with a sharp nod, the little woman left.  
  
Hagrid? Was this the giants name….Hagrid? she wondered. The giant shook his head, a small smile on his face, and shut the window. He turned away from it, and his eyes fell on Jessica, who was shaking in terror  
  
"Oh, uh, hello there. Finally awake, are yeh?" he asked in a warm tone.  
  
She slowly opened her mouth to reply, but made no more than a high squeak. Shaking her head, she swallowed and started over again. She meant to ask where she was, or what happened, but she barely managed to whisper, "Who are you?"  
  
The giant looked a little taken aback, " Oh, righ'. Forgot to introduce myself. My name is Rebeus Hagrid, and I'm the gamekeeper 'ere at Hogwarts."  
  
Oh….no. This can't be what she thought it was. Her heart and her thoughts started going a mile a minute. How could she not have realized it? She knew where she was. She was at Hogwarts, inside the Harry Potter books.  
  
"Hagrid?" she whispered, numb with shock, "Rebeus Hagrid?"  
  
"Uh, yes," the giant answered.  
  
She reached up and pinched her arm, hard. But nothing changed. She was still on the Hogwarts grounds, looking at a very confused and startled Hagrid.  
  
"Righ'…well I best be takin yeh up to the castle. If yer ready," he said, watching her uncertainly. The last sentence hung in the air, and neither of them spoke.  
  
"I think I need some different clothes," she said quietly.  
  
Hagrid surveyed her for a moment, and then to her great surprise and relief, he chuckled. "I s'pose yer righ'. An' I can help yeh with a little bit o' magic. Now, let's see, whaddya usually wear?" 


	3. ~is she evil?!~

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just settled themselves at the Gryffindor table. An excited murmur was passing through the Hall. Harry was as puzzled as the others. Dumbledore had never called a meeting of the entire school before. The teachers were seated up at the High Table, and most of them looked curious, except for a few that looked downright scared. If Harry had not been so preoccupied with his own thoughts, he would have noticed that Hagrid's seat at the table was oddly vacant. Dumbledore, Harry noticed looked as though he had been punched in the stomach and elected president of the world at the same time. As Harry watched, he got to his feet, and the already unusually quiet Hall fell silent.  
  
"Students….faculty. There is much I would like to tell you. However, I do not even know what is happening. I can tell you, however, that right now, our school is in a situation that neither I, nor any of the previous Headmasters and Headmistresses, have ever been in," he said. He stopped to let another murmur run through the Hall. He raised his hand, and silence fell again. "I would like to tell you that this is a safe situation, but I have never lied to my students before, and I do not intend on starting now." Several people's mouths fell open at this statement, but Dumbledore seemed no to have noticed. He certainly continued as though he had not, "There is no more I can add until you all know what I am talking about. Hagrid, can you bring her in, please?"  
  
People started to talk quietly again, apparently confused. Harry caught Seamus' eye, and Seamus shrugged. Just then, Harry noticed that Dumbledore had his long crooked hand pointed at the huge oak doors that lead out of the Hall and back in to the main castle. Several heads, including Harry, Ron, and Hermione's, flicked back to face the door. As they watched, the door slowly opened, and Hagrid's huge face appeared. He looked around for a moment and when he saw Dumbledore, he smiled and announced, "May I present to everyone here….Miss Jessica." He propped open the door and stood aside. In walked a girl who looked no more than fifteen. There was nothing extraordinary about her appearance, apart from her eyes. They were like two huge, sparkling clear blue diamonds. She was not an ugly girl, but she was still not extremely pretty. She had shiny chestnut hair that hung roughly an inch below her shoulder, porcelain colored skin, freckles that were apparent even from his distance, and she somehow carried herself differently than the girls that attended Hogwarts. Harry stared at her for a moment, wondering what it was that was different about her that he couldn't put his finger on. As he was staring, he suddenly realized that he was not the only one who was absolutely dumbstruck at her very being. All around the Hall, people sat staring, mouths hanging open. It certainly wasn't her clothes that attracted their attention. She was dressed in plain jean bellbottoms and a light blue T-shirt. Muggle clothes, said a voice somewhere in the back of Harry's fogged brain. She must be a Muggle, he concluded, because she certainly doesn't look like a witch incognito. She cast a nervous glance around the Hall, taking in the many staring faces, the mouths hanging open, until finally she took a small step further in to the Hall, next to Hagrid. She was visibly shaking from head to toe. With the eyes of everyone in the Hall upon her, Hagrid placed a giant hand on her shoulder and began to gently steer her toward the High Table, as the oak doors closed silently. Students began to turn and sit down again. Through a gap in the people, Harry saw the Slytherins jeering and pointing, all, that is, except for Malfoy. He sat and stared as though he were in a trance. Ron noticed this too, and grinned to Harry.  
  
"I bet he likes her," he whispered, still grinning.  
  
Harry smiled, but secretly, something inside of him was starting to panic. What it was, he didn't know. Something about what Ron had said had left him with an unsettled, eerie feeling. His musings were cut short as Hagrid and Jessica reached the High Table.  
  
I knew I should have worn the pink T-shirt, Jessica thought bitterly as all the students continued to gape at her. Professor Dumbledore had once again gotten to his feet, and once again, silence blanketed the Great Hall  
  
Dumbledore turned to look at Jessica. He fixed her with a piercing stare that Harry knew only too well. After a moment he said, "Thank you, Hagrid. You may take your seat now."  
  
"Righ', then, Professor," Hagrid said, "but I would just like ter say that I don' think she's got anything ter do with Dark Magic. Heck, when I found her she had fainted in the woods and had nothin' more on her than a nightshirt." He patted her shoulder in what should have been an affectionate way, but she felt her knees buckle, and she was almost sent face first in to the High Table.  
  
"Thank you, Hagrid. That information will be taken in to account, as we try to sort this out," Dumbledore replied with a hint of the old twinkle in his eyes.  
  
Hagrid nodded and went to take his place at the High Table, leaving Jessica standing alone under the piercing gaze of students and faculty.  
  
Now, Dumbledore turned to her. "Hello," he said good-naturedly, "I have a few questions for you. Will you answer them?"  
  
Harry wondered why he would give her an option, but as he watched, she nodded her head mutely.  
  
"All right, then. Do you confirm that your name is Jessica?" he asked.  
  
Again, she nodded mutely.  
  
"And where do you come from?' he asked kindly.  
  
Jessica swallowed. She wasn't even sure she was in the same galaxy anymore, but she had to answer. She forced herself to stare directly into Dumbledore's light blue gaze.  
  
"Please, forgive me, sir. But I'm not sure I'm in the same universe as where I came from," she said quietly, "but in case I am, I'm from Poland, Ohio in the United States of America."  
  
"Very well," Dumbledore continued, "and how old are you?"  
  
"I'm fifteen," she admitted. Harry felt his stomach lurch, although he didn't know why. She was his age, so if they let her stay and study there, she'd be in his year.  
  
"Alright, and now for the most difficult question of all. How did you get here?" Professor Dumbledore asked in a strong voice that reminded Harry forcefully of the previous year, when Dumbledore had caught young Barty Crouch trying to kill Harry. Up until Dumbledore's statement, he never realized how loud silence was. He was pretty sure no one in the Hall was breathing, the silence was so deafening.  
  
Finally, Jessica cast a nervous look at the other teachers, and said, "Please, Professor. I know what was taking place in my world on the night I arrived here, but what was going on here, I'm not sure. I think that perhaps I should discuss the specific circumstances with you alone, as I'm not sure it would be wise to tell the whole school. It may cause a panic," she finished breathlessly. Once again, Professor Dumbledore fixed her with a piercing stare. Finally, he said, "Very well. I will speak to you alone in my office. For now…"  
  
"Please, Professor Dumbledore," she interrupted. Her voice was anxious and she sounded very nervous, "So that you will believe what I tell you in your office, may I prove it to you now?"  
  
He studied her for a moment. "All right," he said, "but will it involve telling your secret to the whole school?"  
  
"No, sir. All it will involve is me proving to you that I know very much about the Hogwarts grounds, the students, and the faculty," she said, a little more confident than before.  
  
"All right, then. Prove your knowledge," he said calmly, as he sat down.  
  
An interested wave of talk broke out in the Hall. Surely, she had never been here before, so how is it that she would know about the school?  
  
Show time, Jessica thought.  
  
She cleared her throat and thought for a moment.  
  
"I'd like to start with the staff first, sir. May I?" she asked. Harry noticed that she seemed to be becoming more confident. At any rate, she was certainly shaking less than she had when she first arrived.  
  
"Please, proceed," said Dumbledore. He had that familiar twinkle in his eyes, and he was sitting with his chin resting on his long fingers.  
  
Jessica walked to the far right end of the staff table, and pointed a shaking finger at Professor McGonagall. "Professor Minerva McGonagall," she spoke in barely more than a whisper, "She is the head of the Gryffindor house, and the Transfiguration teacher here at Hogwarts. She filled in as the Headmistress two years ago, when you, Professor Dumbledore, were taken away from the school by some….unfound accusations." She stopped for a moment, to think of what else she could say. "She is an Animagi, and can transform at will into a tabby cat with markings around its eyes, identical to her spectacles." A tense silence followed this little speech. Harry noticed that Professor McGonagall's lips had stretched into a thin white line.  
  
Jessica seemed to think she had said enough and move to the next teacher. She once again pointed a shaking finger, although this time, it was pointed at Snape. "Professor Severus Snape," she said breathlessly, "The Potions master at Hogwarts. He is the head of Slytherin house, and he has been known to favor the Slytherins during his lessons. He is also known to be rather hostile toward non-Slytherins, particularly Gryffindors." Harry could have sworn that at this statement, she had given him a small wink. Of course, he may have imagined it. Ron and Harry grinned at eachother, as they watched Snape assume a look of utmost loathing for Jessica. She gave him a weak smile, and moved onto the next teacher.  
  
"Madame Hooch," she said, "She is the flying instructor, and the referee at most of the Quidditch matches." A ripple of confusion broke out in the Hall. This girl was certainly a Muggle. How could she know about Quidditch?  
  
She seemed to notice the confusion of the students, and she turned around to address them.  
  
"Yes," she said simply, "I know all about Quidditch. The rules, the players, the risks. I've also read the book Quidditch Through the Ages, and I consider myself quite a broom connoisseur."  
  
The students sat gaping at her, and even the teachers looked quite shocked. Still facing the students, she shrugged and smiled. At that moment, Harry shivered as he felt a sudden and inexplicable wave of warmth overcome him. He stared at those blue eyes, and for a moment, they connected with his. He felt himself get lightheaded and his scar felt as though it were tickling. There was an odd sensation traveling from his forehead down through the rest of his body. She looked away, and even from his distance, he could see her fair cheeks blush. She turned around again to face the teachers.  
  
'I believe I have said all I need to say. I know more, of course. But perhaps the rest should be told to you alone," she said to Dumbledore. Apparently, she was no longer nervous, and Harry saw that she had stopped shaking completely. Could it be that she had induced that strange sensation when their eyes had met?, he wondered. Dumbledore gazed straight at her eyes for a moment, then he stood up quickly.  
  
"Students. Please return to your respective dormitories. Your head of house will summon you when it is time for you to go to your last lesson. Off you go. Teachers, staff, and Miss Ciccone, follow me, please."  
  
The students rose from their seats and proceeded out of the Great Hall. Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors then all set off in their separate directions.  
  
"What d'you reckon is going on?" Ron asked Harry as they started up the great marble staircase.  
  
"I dunno," Harry replied, wondering whether Ron had felt the same sensation when he had looked in to Jessica's eyes.  
  
"Me either," Ron said, "but wow. They don't make 'em like that at Hogwarts," he continued smiling.  
  
"Oh, do you think so?" Harry asked, accidentally tripping over a stair because he was looking at Ron, "You think she's pretty?" he asked.  
  
"Oh I don't know. I suppose so. Of course, I'd never admit it. I mean, who knows what kind of evil powers she could have?" he asked, shrugging.  
  
Harry nodded, but despite all of the things that made her seem evil, he still couldn't shake the feeling that maybe…just maybe… 


	4. ~the explanation~

Jessica was silent as she was ushered out of the magnificent Great Hall, and in to a small meeting room located to the left of the High Table. The room in to which she was lead had wood paneling along the walls. A large fireplace stood at the far end, and it was currently empty. Portraits of sleeping women and men were hanging on the walls. Behind her, the rest of the staff filed in and Dumbledore went around behind them to shut the door.  
  
"There now. Everybody's in. Ah, yes…almost forgot," he said. He then waved his wand carelessly at the fireplace, and a roaring fire erupted. One of the sleeping women snored and rolled over to the other side of the frame. "All right," he continued, "You have just demonstrated a great amount of knowledge of our world, and I have no doubt that you know more. Now, the real question is, how do you know it? Perhaps in explaining this, you can include what you know of the night when you arrived here." He looked down on her and she threw a glance over her shoulder.  
  
"May I tell you the story in front of the staff?" she asked.  
  
"Please do," Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling, "Whether you tell them now, or I tell them later makes no difference. So I was just hoping to cut down my work."  
  
"Ok, I'll tell you," she said quietly, "First of all, how I know so much about the castle. Where I come from there is a certain book series. Seven in all. They are called the Harry Potter books, and in them, they tell every detail of Harry's life. From the time when his parents were killed, to the end of his seventh year," there was a very tense silence, and she paused to let this information sink in. Then, clearing her throat, she continued, "Which means that I know everything there is to know about Harry Potter. I know what he thinks, how he feels, his loves, his hates, and everything in between. Somehow, in this world, I do not think this information will help me much. Although, this does also mean that I know everything that has happened the last four years while he was at Hogwarts. I would tell you these events, but I do not know how it will affect your world. I do not even know what my very being here will do. It may destroy everything we've ever known. In both worlds. Those books are also the reason that I ended up here. I was reading the fourth one right before I crashed in the Forbidden Forest. When I touched the book cover, I felt this jerk somewhere behind my belly button, and next thing I knew…I was here."  
  
"A Portkey," Dumbledore said quietly.  
  
There was silence for a long time, and then finally, someone spoke.  
  
"Of course, she is lying," Snape said in a low hiss, "There is no was that her world could have an entire book series about the magical world. People would notice. They'd start to wonder. The may even question the existence of witches and wizards."  
  
"Somehow, I do not see it that way," Dumbledore said in a tone close to a whisper, "I do not think she is lying, and I do think she has read about our world. I perceive no Dark intentions around her, and I agree with her decision not to discuss the previous year's events with us."  
  
"Dumbledore, it is beyond me how you can believe such an outrageous story, but surely you have to sense some kind of Dark Magic about her?" Madame Hooch said incredulously.  
  
"As I said before," Dumbledore replied, "I do not."  
  
Jessica was very aware of all the eyes that were now boring in to her.  
  
"And now," Dumbledore said, "We must decide who's house she may stay with during her time here."  
  
No one moved. Finally, Professor McGonagall stepped forward, and said, "She may stay with the Gryffindors. I will conjure her a small room off of the common room. I would put her in the girl's dormitory, but it is already full."  
  
"Thank you very much, Minerva," Dumbledore said, smiling at her.  
  
"I only hope you know what you are doing, Dumbledore," she said simply. Then she turned to Jessica, "Come on," she said, "I will show you where you are going to be staying."  
  
Jessica walked numbly after her, and she heard the door snap shut as she left, leaving the teachers to their very confused thoughts. 


	5. ~the beginning of the end~

Professor McGonagall led her down one quiet deserted corridor after another. Finally, they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. She sat snoozing in her frame. The Professor McGonagall once again turned to Jessica.  
  
"I will never understand every aspect of the Headmaster's plan. However, I can see why he trusts you. You do have a very honest face, although we may have to administer truth potion to you to convince some of the teachers," then, catching the look on her dance, she added hastily, "it doesn't hurt."  
  
Somehow, Jessica didn't believe that.  
  
"Come on, now," Professor continued, "Watch your step." She gave the portrait the password (higgly-dee-piggle-dee), and they stepped inside.  
  
The common room was a sea of black, which made Jessica, in her light blue shirt, stand out a mile. The moment she entered, the room fell silent. Professor McGonagall climbed in after her, rather ungracefully. She straightened up, and turned to address the students.  
  
"Gryffindors. I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our house. Her stay may be temporary, or it may be permanent. Either way, I expect you to treat her with the same respect you show eachother. I have no doubt that you will not disappoint me. You are all now dismissed to your last class. I will stay behind and show Jessica around. Please, treat her as if you have known her as long as you have known eachother. She is just as confused about his as we are. You are dismissed," Professor McGonagall finished, with a distinct note of superiority.  
  
Jessica stepped out of the way of the portrait hold, and watched as the room slowly filtered out. With all of the students gone, she could see the common room clearly.  
  
It was just how the book had described it. There was a roaring fire in the fireplace at the back of the room, and it was surrounded by a bunch of squashy armchairs. Tapestries displaying the Gryffindor lion hung on the wall. It was a very big room, and to either side of the fireplace, stairs went winding upwards. She recognized these as the staircases that lead to the separate dormitories.  
  
Then, she noticed something that had not been a part of the book. A golden door was attached to the wall to the right of the girl's staircase. Professor McGonagall led her over to it, and with a rush of excitement, she realized that this is where her room was.  
  
Professor nodded at the door, and stood back. Hands trembling, Jessica stepped forward and placed her hand on the knob. Slowly, she turned it and pushed the door open.  
  
Whatever Professor McGonagall had meant by calling this room "small" was lost on Jessica. The room was the size of a hotel suite, including a large brass bed in the middle. The bed was draped with light blue and gray sheets, and the headboard and the footboard were a shiny bronze color. Jessica guessed that it was a queen size. However, the bed was nothing compared to the rest of the room. A large gray dresser stood against the white walls, and an odd black gizmo was sitting on top, but she was too impressed by the room to stop and worry about a few small details. The walls and floor were white, and the room were filled with small glass and porcelain figures.  
  
She turned to Professor McGonagall, beaming, and said, "I love it. Thank you so much."  
  
Then, Professor McGonagall did something she had never been known to do. She leaned forward and hugged Jessica very hard. Jessica tried to smile even though she was pretty sure she had cracked a rib. When they broke apart, Professor took her shoulders and looked her very seriously in the eye. "Somehow," she said, "You remind me of a young man I know. He too is very brave in strange situations. And I think that you, like he, will have a great impact on our world." She straightened up. "Right," she continued, back to her old self again, "During your time here, you will have the same responsibilities as the rest of the Gryffindors. You will follow all of the rules, and attend all of the classes," she gave her a rare smile, "I daresay you'll want to get a move on to catch up. I will talk to the other fifth years and assign you classes accordingly. I wish you the best of luck," and with a small nod, she left the room and shut the door behind her.  
  
Jessica sighed, and flopped backward on to her bed. She was going to be attending school with Harry Potter. This should have been the happiest moment of her life, and yet…somehow, there had to be a reason she was brought here. Her wandering mind stopped as she rolled over and fell in to a deep, dream-filled sleep.  
  
She had the strangest dream she had ever experienced. She was at her window, looking down on the Hogwarts grounds, when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. Curious, she had lifted the window and soon found herself floating down toward the courtyard. She looked around as she landed gently on the stone path. Through the almost tangible night, she saw a man standing in the shadows, waiting.  
  
"What on Earth are you doing down here at this time of night?" she called out to him. She watched for a full minute, and still he gave no reply. Soon, there was the sound of footsteps. Someone was walking quickly toward the courtyard. Jessica turned just in time to see the face of the approaching person. It was none other than Harry Potter.  
  
"Get out," he whispered urgently, "Hurry. Run. Now!" She just stood and stared at him, noticing that he kept throwing anxious glances at the man in the corner. When she made no effort to leave, he placed his hands on her shoulders, spun her around, and pushed her as hard as he could. She stumbled, fell back, and woke in her bed with clammy hands and a searing pain in the indent of her neck. 


	6. ~the dream of a nightmare~

She sat upright in the dark. The room was pitch black, and she stumbled as she threw off her blankets and tried to find her candle. She tripped in the dark, and hit her head on something very hard. Tasting blood, she realized she has split her lip on something that felt like the bedpost. She groped in the dark and finally felt her hand touch the candleholder. She fumbled with the book of matches, and finally she lit it. The room was illuminated by the soft orb of light that was coming from the candle. Having stubbed her toe in all the confusion, she limped over to her vanity.  
  
She set the candle down with a soft clatter, and pulled her hair away from her face. She found that she had been correct in thinking she had split her lip. A steady stream of blood was running from her lip, past her chin, and ending in a small red spot on the collar of her T-shirt. She seized a tissue from her dresser and started to wipe it away. As she slid the tissue down her chin, she remembered the pain on her neck. It was still there, but her lip had taken her mind off of it. She finished wiping the blood stream away, and threw the tissue in to the trash can.  
  
Then, she pulled down the collar of the T-shirt she had fallen asleep in. For a moment, she couldn't see anything unusual, and then she noticed it. An inch long mark on the soft spot of her neck. She leaned forward to study it. The candlelight flickered eerily off her face as she tried to discern the shape of the mark, for even though she was fairly sure it was her imagination, it seemed to be changing shape rapidly. Her blood ran cold as she realized it was a scar that was burning red, as if it had been freshly made. As she watched, horrified, it took once last second to shape- shift, and ended up in the form of a raindrop. Once it had assumed this shape, it glowed with a white fire that made her whole head feel as if it were about to explode. She screamed and clutched her neck, the scar burning under her fingers. And then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped, and she stood panting in front of her mirror. Her fingers trembled as she once again pulled down her collar. The scar was still there, but it had faded to a light pink. A raindrop was now permanently engraved on the soft indent of her neck.  
  
The next morning she woke up very early. She lay still for a moment, wondering what it was the had woken her. All of a sudden, she realized that a little man with wicked eyes was floating about an inch from her face. She yelled, and sat up, clutching her blankets around her. The little man backed away, and she realized who it was.  
  
"Peeves," she growled, "Yes, I know who you are," she said, catching his expression, "and there's no need to look so shocked, I know more than you think. Now, if you don't leave immediately, I'll have no choice but to go to Professor Dumbledore."  
  
Peeves spun around in mid-air and started to float toward the door, but as he reached it, he spun around. "Oy! You got something on your neck, there!" he said with an evil grin. Then, cackling, he zoomed out of the room.  
  
Perhaps it was because she was still processing being woken up so early, but she did not even hear his words, let alone worry about them. It must have been a dream, she thought, I just imagined that scar. The room was light enough now that she didn't need to light a candle. The candle!, she thought suddenly, that's how I can tell if it was a dream. She threw off her covers and ran to the vanity. Her heart froze as she saw the melted stub of a candle lying in its brass holder. The nightmare had happened. The scar was real, although how she acquired it, she could not explain. She stood in front of her vanity, rubbing her neck, and trying to decide what to do next. Should she go to Dumbledore? No, she told herself, just imagine what the teachers would think then. They already think I've been sent here to destroy them all, she thought with a small smile. It occurred to her then, as she looked down and realized she was still in the clothes of the previous day, that she would have to change. Without thinking, she started toward the dresser. But then, she realized that this wasn't her dresser at home. Yet she couldn't understand why Professor would have put just an empty dresser in her room. A blinding white light penetrated the room as she slid the drawer open.  
  
She shielded her eyes against the glare, and tried to lean forward to see what was inside. Nothing but blinding neon light greeted her. Removing her hand from her eyes, she stepped back. She studied the dresser, very confused, and wondered how she was supposed to get clothes from this stupid thing. Then, she recalled how Professor Dumbledore had ordered his dinner at the Yule Ball last year. She leaned over the drawer again, and said very clearly, "Sweater." Instantly, and with a faint pop, white sweater was lying in the drawer, just within her reach. "Blue," she shouted into the light. The sweater faded to a pale, powdery blue. She smiled at her own ingeniousness, and grabbed the sweater.  
  
This new method of getting clothing took very little getting used to for Jessica. And soon, she had acquired a pair of bellbottom jeans, black boots, and her blue sweater. She dressed and pulled her hair into a simple ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror, wishing that she had her makeup. But somehow, she didn't look bad without it, infact, she looked as though she had just applied some. Oh well, I guess I could always look worse, she thought. Mustering up all of her courage, she opened the door and left her room.  
  
Although it was still relatively early, a few people were awake. They were milling around the Common Room, talking in quiet voices. As Jessica shut the door behind her, she caught a couple of sentences from a conversation taking place near her.  
  
"Yea, I know. I don't know what to think though. She seems pretty nice, but I don't want to become friends with her."  
  
"I don't think she seems nice! I think she's evil! I mean, how else could she have gotten here? She must be working for You-Know-Who. I can't believe she's going to be in our house. Why not put her in Slytherin with the other evil people?"  
  
"Yes, but still…"  
  
"And what kind of a name is 'Jessica'? This whole situation is so riddled with Dark Magic…"  
  
Jessica gave a start at the sound of her name. She walked slowly away from the door, and leaned forward slightly to get a look at the people having the conversation.  
  
She recognized them at once. There was no mistaking them, they looked exactly like the book had said. Parvati Patil was sitting in one of the big armchairs by the fire, her long dark hair twisted in to a braid. She looked simply furious, and was discussing a very serious matter with another girl. Jessica recognized her as Lavender Brown, Parvati's best friend in the books. Lavender didn't look angry, infact, she looked sympathetic.  
  
"Yes, Parvati, I understand. But still, we should be nice to her. We don't know for sure that she's evil. Plus, Professor McGonagall told us to treat her like she's perfectly normal, and she's going to be in all of our classes, so we might as well start getting along with her now," Lavender said.  
  
Parvati simply glared at her and said, "Well, you do what you want. But I refuse to have anything to do with that…that…evil, wicked…"  
  
Parvati faltered as Jessica, who had been trying to listen to their conversation in secret, let out a huge sneeze. Oops…Jessica thought. She came out from behind a chair, and looked at the pair of them.  
  
"Um, Hello," she said quietly. She wished that she had known something better to say, but the situation had left her feeling extremely dim-witted.  
  
Lavender cast a sidelong glance at Parvati, who was sitting with her mouth hanging open, and then stood up. "Hello, I'm Lavender…"  
  
"Brown," Jessica said simply. She felt herself turn red, she had said too much. Lavender's eyes became round, and she looked over her shoulder at Parvati, who sat with a self-satisfied smile on her lips.  
  
"Oh, I heard, uh, someone say your last name was Brown. That's…that's how I knew," she said in a rush, eager to cover her mistake.  
  
"Oh," Lavender said, apparently still shaken that Jessica had known her name. "Oh," she said again, "well, um, this is Parvati Patil. And we're also fifth year Gryffindors. Yea, so…" Lavender was still apparently at a loss for words.  
  
"Oh really? Well, that's very nice," Jessica said, eager to move the conversation away from her mistake, "But I have to be honest, I don't have any idea what I'm doing. I'm so confused, but I guess if someone will talk to me, I'll have a good chance getting out of this situation alive." She smiled, but apparently, they hadn't found this funny. They both looked quite terrified, infact. Parvati stood up from her chair, and walked away quickly. Lavender took another look at Jessica, and then followed her. Jessica stood by herself in the middle of the armchairs, making a mental note to never try and make a joke again. She looked around and saw that the Common Room was slowly filling up with students. So, she walked over to the corner to wait and see what they were doing. Jessica hadn't been lying, she really didn't have any idea what to do. Soon, she heard some students say they were going down to breakfast, and watched as they left through the portrait hole. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, she slid out silently behind them, and followed at a distance. It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to them, but after the conversation with Parvati and Lavender, she decided to wait for a while before she talked to anyone. She followed the students in front of her for quite some time, trying to remember their path exactly so she wouldn't have to follow people tomorrow. Finally they came to the staircase the led down to the Great Hall. She walked slowly, remembering that there could be trick steps that she could get stuck in. Soon, she had reached the Great Oak doors that led in to the Hall. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.  
  
Immediate silence fell, and all she could see was a sea of black robes. She looked down and blushed, wishing she had picked something black to blend in with everyone else. Then, a buzzing started to fill the Hall and people started pointing.  
  
Professor McGonagall walked over to her, amid the stares and whispers, and said, "Come on, Jessica. Your table is over here." She led her to a long table that stood directly in front of the High Table. Professor McGonagall told her to sit wherever she wanted, and then went back to sit at the teacher's table.  
  
Jessica walked slowly down the side of the table, until she was at the very last seat. No one was within five seats of her, and she was privately glad. She did not feel like dealing with the torments of people just yet. She ate a very hurried breakfast, and then went to talk to Professor McGonagall, who was still sitting at the High Table. Jessica noticed that she had a small piece of paper in her hand. When she reached the table and started to speak, Professor McGonagall held up a hand to silence her. "Please let me speak first," she told her, "I have in my hand your schedule. These teachers have been informed that you are going to be taking their classes, and they have all agreed to treat you like any other student. Please note that you are to be on time to every lesson, or you will be given a detention. Oh yes, I almost forgot," here, she reached in to her robe and pulled out a brand new looking wand, "We sent your measurements to Mr. Ollivander, and he was kind enough to send you a wand. It will be paid for by the school fund, so you need not worry about that. You will also find that the rest of the required supplies are up in your room. Do not hesitate to ask for directions from other students, I am sure they will be most helpful." Ya, right, Jessica thought wryly, however, she was too excited to be worried for long. She took the wand from Professor with shaking hands. Her own wand! She could hardly believe it, it was a dream come true. 


	7. ~the first lesson~

Sure enough, when she reached her room she found a pile of paper, ink bottles, quills, and a large cauldron sitting on her bed. She looked at her schedule. Her first class was Transfiguration. Well, that should be easy enough, she thought, I can just follow someone.  
  
As it turns out, this task was much harder than she thought it would be. After breakfast, the students had all come back up to the Common Room to get their things for the first lesson. Jessica was ready for them. She stood over in the corner with her supplies, waiting for someone in the fifth year to leave. Soon, she recognized Dean Thomas leaving with some of his friends. She followed them for ten minutes or so before they turned in to the boy's bathroom. Oh no, she thought, I can't stand here and wait for them. So she set off down a corridor she wasn't familiar with. Checking her watch and her schedule, she realized she had only four minutes to get to class. She panicked and started to run. Crash. She collided with someone that was coming in the opposite direction. She had barely glimpsed a flash of red hair and a long nose before she was flat on her back, her books lay scattered about her head.  
  
"Oy! Watch it there! Oh….oh…."  
  
Jessica, massaging her shoulder where it had hit the ground, lifted her head slightly. Ron Weasley was standing over her, looking both concerned and scared,  
  
"Oh," he said again. People, she noticed, seem to like that word around her. "Hey, I'm sorry," and then spotting her books, he said, "Here, lemme help ya with those."  
  
As she watched he reached down and started to gather the scattered notebooks and quills.  
  
"Thanks," she muttered, not quite together yet. She propped herself up on her elbow and started the slow and painful process of standing up. By the time she was all the way upright, he had gathered all of her books and was handing them to her. "Thank you," she said again.  
  
He studied her for a moment, then said, "You're going to Transfiguration, aren't you?" She nodded. "Alright, then. I'll show you how to get there, because something tells me you're not very sure of the way," he said.  
  
She could feel herself going red, and she looked down at her boots. Is it that obvious that I don't know what I'm doing, she thought sadly. Making a resolution to try harder she set off after him through the corridor.  
  
Within two minutes, they had reached the classroom, narrowly avoiding being late. Ron walked to the far right of the room, and sat down at a table with Harry and Hermione. Because they had been so late, there was only one empty place, and it was at the table right behind Harry, Ron, and Hermione's. She walked silently to the empty chair and sat down. Trying very hard not to look at the people in front of her, Jessica piled her books up on the table in front of her. Professor McGonagall started talking about the aspects of Transfiguration, and Jessica listened raptly and took detailed notes. Ha, she thought sarcastically, if only I had taken this good of notes back home, maybe I wouldn't have gotten a B in History. Soon, Professor told them to take out their wands and change a piece of paper in to a boulder. They were studying transfigurations of different weights at the time, and this task proved exceedingly difficult. As Jessica stared blankly at her paper, wondering how she had gotten herself in to this mess, she heard three voices drifting toward her. They were very familiar, although she did not know why they were.  
  
"So, Ron. What kept you, today?" someone asked. This was a girl's voice. It had a slight edge to it that sounded something like disapproval. Almost like someone's mother, Jessica thought, smiling to herself. She stopped smiling, however, when she realized who was talking. Hermione Granger. Her heart froze, and despite her effort not to look at them, she shifted her books so that she could both look at them and hear what they were saying.  
  
"Oh, nothing really," Ron said, "I just ran in to, literally, that new girl. And I could tell she didn't know where she was going, so I helped her find the classroom." He grinned at his little joke.  
  
"Well, that was very nice," Hermione said, sounding somewhat shocked.  
  
"No need to sound so surprised, Hermione," Ron replied acidly. "So anyway, what do you guys make of her? Reckon she's evil?" he asked.  
  
Oh, please, please don't, Jessica willed them as she continued to eavesdrop on their conversation.  
  
"Oh I don't know, really," Hermione said, "I don't think she can be, or else Dumbledore wouldn't trust her. What do you think Harry?"  
  
Yes, Jessica thought, Harry has been oddly silent.  
  
"She's not evil," Harry said plainly, as though he had known her all her life. Jessica jumped a little. That was a very sudden and complete conclusion to draw about someone he doesn't even know, she thought.  
  
Ron and Hermione were clearly a little startled too. "How d'you reckon, Harry?" Ron asked, sounding a little shocked.  
  
"I just…I just know, that's all," Harry said, sounding a little confused himself. Ron gave Hermione and very confused look, and she returned it. "Right, so Ron, how are the Chudley Cannons doing this season?" Harry asked. Jessica noticed that he seemed rather eager to change the subject.  
  
For the rest of the class, Harry and Ron talked about Quidditch. At the end of the lesson, Neville succeeded in igniting his paper and causing a panic. As the bell rang, Jessica checked her schedule. She sighed as she realized she had to go to another room that she had no idea where to find. Next was Charms with Professor Flitwick. However, finding her way this time was much easier. All she had to do was follow the crowd, and in no time she was standing outside of Professor Flitwick's door. Entering the room, she found that in this class they had assigned seats. Jessica's seat was the closet to his desk, probably so he can make sure I don't try to curse anyone, she thought sarcastically.  
  
This lesson was mostly about trying to get a paperweight to float in mid-air, and perform several other odd tasks, such as flip back and forth across the desk. Jessica had trouble just holding her wand. Needless to say, she had never been taught how to hold a wand, so she held it like a pencil. This method was not very effective.  
  
The turning point of the class was when Jessica, having given up hope of ever working the wand right, stabbed the paperweight with it. The paperweight shook violently and then exploded in to billions of tiny pieces, showering the class with tiny rocks and dusts. Once Professor Flitwick had cleared the air and cleaned up the mess, he decided it would probably be a good idea to assign Jessica a partner. He sat in his chair, scanning the class and finally said, "How about you, Harry Potter?"  
  
Harry had been sitting three seats away from her, and at this suggestion he gave a start. He looked at Jessica who blushed furiously, looking at her desk. Then he said in a quiet voice, "Alright, Professor."  
  
Ron and Hermione gaped at him, as he switched seats with Neville so that he could sit next to Jessica.  
  
They said very little to eachother at first. She was still very embarrassed about what had happened, and he was a little worried that she might do something like that again. Finally, Jessica was so exasperated, she threw her wand down on the table. Harry jumped a little and looked at her. She was sitting with her arms crossed, glaring at her wand, which lay on the table in front of her.  
  
"Oh, I don't even know how to hold the stupid thing!" she exclaimed.  
  
Harry hesitated for a moment, and then said in a very small voice, "Uh, would you like me to show you how?"  
  
She was startled. She had completely forgotten he was there, although how she did not know.  
  
"Please," she said quietly.  
  
"Ok, here," he said a little more confidently, "You put your thumb on this side, and your index finger over here. Ok, you try."  
  
She picked her wand back up, and tried the new grip.  
  
"No, that's not right, here let me show you," Harry said, as he reached for her hand. She jumped when his hands touched hers. He was a little surprised. "What?" he asked, "What's wrong?"  
  
She sat looking at the desk for a moment, and then, in little more than a whisper she said, "It's amazing…"  
  
"What is?" he said, completely distracted, he didn't realized he still had his hands on hers.  
  
She lifted her head, and looked him straight in the eye with her sparkling blue, doe eyes. "You're not afraid to touch my hand," she said calmly.  
  
  
  
* * * 


	8. ~the discovery~

Harry stared straight back in to those eyes. What is she talking about, was the only thought that ran through his head, and then all of a sudden it clicked.  
  
"Oh," he said, still not letting go of her hands.  
  
She continued to look at him, as though she wanted him to understand very much what she had just said.  
  
"Its, er, no problem," he said. Then he went red, realizing how stupid he sounded. However, she locked her eyes on his, and then her lips curved in to a smile. It was the most wonderful smile Harry had ever seen, and once again he felt that strange warm sensation traveling through his body. Still smiling, she looked down at her wand. Regaining himself, he shifted her fingers, and then removed his hands.  
  
She concentrated on the paperweight for a moment, and then said, "Liftenumus Hevaportu!"  
  
Instantly, the paperweight rose off of her desk. She looked at Harry who smiled back, still unable to shake the feeling that her look had something to do with that odd sensation.  
  
The next few days passed in a blur, and before they knew it, the weekend was upon them. Harry hadn't spoken to Jessica since that day in Charms, and he didn't know whether this was a good or bad thing. He could sense some kind of connection with her. And the dream he had had the first night she had arrived just helped that notion.  
  
He dreamed that He, Ron, and Hermione were walking across the grounds, it was nearly dusk. As they were walking, he saw someone in light blue clothes enter the courtyard, although he did not get a good look at the person. Before he realized what was happening, he'd broken away from Ron and Hermione and was racing toward the garden. When he arrived, he saw Jessica standing staring in to a corner. He looked in to the corner and saw none other than Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail. Peter had betrayed his parents and become a servant of Lord Voldemort, the worst wizard who had ever lived. He was responsible for many awful crimes, including several deaths, kidnappings, and the imprisonment of an innocent man. Everyone believed him to be dead, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew the truth. Seeing him there, standing quiet in the shadows, Harry knew he was up to no good. However, Jessica did not seem to realize this. She stood staring in to the shadows, almost transfixed. He raced up to her and told her to leave, but all she had done was continue to look at him. Fearing she was going to be hurt, Harry grabbed her and tried to shove her away. He succeeded, but before she had gone completely, someone shouted the words, "Avada Kedavra!" and she had gone. He had woken up right after that, drenched in a cold sweat. He was sure it had been a dream, and yet, it had seemed so real.  
  
The dream had left several unanswered questions racing through his mind. Why was Wormtail standing in the courtyard? Had the dream been real? And the most important of all, had Jessica had the same dream?  
  
However, when the weekend arrived, Harry was too busy with his studies to worry about some silly dream. Infact, on Saturday afternoon, he, Ron, and Hermione found themselves standing in the library trying to find a book to help them with Professor Binns' essay. Professor Binns taught history of magic, and he was the only ghost who was a teacher. Many people said that he didn't really notice he was dead, he just got up to teach one day, and left his body behind. It was easily the most boring class in Harry's entire schedule, and at the moment they were studying Goblin Rebellions of the 1900s.  
  
They walked numbly through the aisles, trying to find a book. As Harry turned the corner, he collided with Ron, who was standing quite still and staring at a table nearby.  
  
"What…" Harry began, but Ron held up a hand to silence him, and pointed toward the table. Harry leaned forward to get a better look. Jessica was sitting at the table, and piled all around her were books of every shape and size. As Harry tried to discern some of their titles, he realized they were all on the subject of curse scars. As she read, she would move her hand up to her neck, and then back down to the book. Harry looked at Ron with raised eyebrows, and Ron shrugged.  
  
Harry pulled him away from the table and whispered, "Why do you think she's researching curse scars?"  
  
Ron shook his head and said, "I dunno, but I'd sure like to find out."  
  
"What are you two doing?" Hermione said. She had just come around the corner, clutching a stack of books.  
  
"Shhhhh!" they hissed together.  
  
"Come here and have a look," Harry whispered and pulled her over to where she could have a clear view of table.  
  
"Oh really!" she huffed.  
  
"Ya, I know, we can't figure it…"  
  
"People are supposed to put their books away when they're done!" she interrupted.  
  
"What?" Ron asked, astonished  
  
He and Harry walked quickly forward to look. The table was empty, Jessica had gone, but her books were still lying about untidily. Hermione shook her head and walked away. Just then, Harry noticed that one book was still open. He and Ron approached it carefully, trying not to look like they were up to something, and when they reached the table they sat down quickly. Ron slid the book over in front of him, and Harry watched as Ron's eyes grew round. He looked at Harry, and quickly shoved the book at him.  
  
Harry pulled the book closer, bent over it and read. "Curse scars can be obtained in several different ways. They can take the form of a simple line, or an intricate design. Many witches and wizards have tried to pass theirs off as an elaborate tattoo, however, this rarely works. The scar of the Cruciatus curse usually takes the shape of a diamond. The shape of the Imperius curse scar is usually that of a triangle. There is only one known person who has a curse scar from the Avada Kedavra curse, and it is Harry Potter. His scar took the form of a lightning bolt. However, it is rumored that if the killing curse hits you at an off angle, or reflects off something to hit you, it can leave a scar in the form of a raindrop. This can not be confirmed, though, because no one but Harry Potter has survived this curse…" It then went on to talk about different ways a scar can be treated.  
  
He looked up at Ron, who was sitting with his mouth hanging open, staring at something past Harry. Harry slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder. A very red faced Jessica stood there, clutching a stack of books. 


	9. ~the secret is revealed~

There was a long awkward pause. Jessica stood, holding about seven books, which were teetering dangerously. Harry and Ron sat gaping at her, wondering what she was going to do. Suddenly, and with a loud crash, her books dropped from her arms and hit the table. She gave them one last terrified glance, then turned on her heel and raced from the library.  
  
Harry sat there dumbstruck for a minute. Why had she done that? he wondered. Apparently, Madame Pince had heard the crash, and she came running over, brandishing a duster.  
  
"What is all this…" her voice faltered as she saw the mess on the table. Her eyes flashed dangerously. "Out," she hissed dangerously, "now."  
  
They didn't argue. Quite the contrary, they grabbed their books and dashed from the library, eager to catch up with Jessica. They found her sitting by herself in the Common Room. She was in one of the larger armchairs, staring absently in to the fire. There was no one else in the Common Room, many of them had already gone down to lunch, but this situation had driven eating clean out of Harry and Ron's minds. They approached her quietly. She didn't seem to notice that they had entered the room, either that or she was choosing to ignore them. Harry and Ron sat in two armchairs directly opposite of Jessica's. Still, she took no notice of them.  
  
Harry turned to Ron, wondering which of them should start the conversation. Finally, Ron nodded bravely, and turned to look at Jessica.  
  
"Er, hello there," he said timidly.  
  
She jumped and looked around. Obviously, she hadn't even noticed they were there. When she looked at Ron, she could feel her cheeks start glowing, and she turned back around to face the fire.  
  
"Hello," she said in little more than a whisper, "Come to mock me, have you?"  
  
Ron was startled. "No!" he said, surprised. "No, not at all. Er…your name's Jessica, isn't it?" he asked, apparently trying to turn the conversation around.  
  
She continued to stare in to the fire. "Yes it is," she said quietly, "but there is something that tells me that you shouldn't call me by that name. Someone, who should not be, is listening, and it's dangerous."  
  
The fire crackled eerily, as Harry and Ron sat stunned by this amazing proclamation.  
  
"Uh, how do you figure that?" Harry asked.  
  
She turned her head to look at him. Her eyes were so beautiful and so sad. He was reminded of his first year when he had found a dead unicorn in the Forbidden Forest. It was sad, beautiful, and tragic, just like her eyes.  
  
"I just know," she said simply. "I think that if you don't believe me," she continued after a minute of silence, "then you should walk up to the staircase to the boy's dormitory. I believe that you will find a trail of blood leading up to Harry's bed."  
  
Harry looked at Ron. He jumped up and raced to the boy's dormitory. Sure enough, a line of blood started at the bottom of the staircase and trailed all the way upstairs. He flung open the door and saw a knife lying on his bed, drenched in blood. He stood in the doorway, staring with his mouth hanging open. Spinning around, he raced back down the steps. He found Jessica and Ron sitting ashen faced in front of the fire.  
  
"It's true," he said to Ron, still panting from the run. Then he turned to Jessica, "How did you know? Who's blood is it?"  
  
Jessica stared at him for a minute. "It's no one's blood," she whispered. "The blood is now gone. If you go and try to find it right now, you won't be able to."  
  
Ron went this time. When he returned, he was shaking his head. "No, Harry. Nothing was there," he said.  
  
They stared at Jessica, and she stared in to the fire. "No one wants me here, I can tell," she whispered, and she sounded close to tears. "Someone is trying to scare me in to leaving. But they're wasting their time, if I knew how to get home I would." She turned her head very suddenly toward Harry and Ron, "You can not trust anyone in this castle. Something big is going to happen. I can feel it. I've been having…nightmares…" she trailed off in to silence.  
  
Harry looked at her. "I have too," he said quietly.  
  
"You and I," she said softly, "Have both been given a scar from the worst curse there is. The Avada Kedavra curse." She reached up and pulled down the neck of her shirt, revealing the raindrop.  
  
"So, that tale is true," Ron said.  
  
She nodded. "And I believe, that because of Voldemort's rising, a catastrophe is about to fall upon your world. Somehow, I am going to be a part of it. How, I do not know yet. But I do know that someone is trying to find out as much as they can about me. And I am scared for my very life."  
  
  
  
* * * 


	10. ~the first attack~

Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stunned as he did.  
  
"How do you know about You-Know-Who?" Ron whispered.  
  
"That is not important," she whispered urgently, "What is important, is that you promise me that you will never tell anyone what we've talked about here. Also, you must help me keep safe, or I may not even have a chance to help your world."  
  
She stared at them with round eyes, pleading with their minds to understand. Harry had been in some odd situations since he started attending Hogwarts, but this had to be the strangest. He looked straight in to her eyes, something inside of him trusted her. He nodded slowly, and watched as Ron did the same.  
  
She rose from her chair. "Then it's agreed," she said simply, "You will never speak of this conversation again. If you'll excuse me, I have to go finish my History of Magic essay."  
  
And with that, she left.  
  
Jessica entered her room, and shut the door. She was still unsure if she should have told them, but she decided it was probably the right thing to do. She had just opened her book, when there was a sharp knock on the door. Sighing, she went to answer it. However, upon reaching it, the door was flung open. Professor McGonagall stood in the doorway, her lips the thinnest of lines. She fixed her beady eyes on Jessica and said, "I need you to come with me, right now."  
  
Jessica backed up slowly. Something was wrong. Professor McGonagall had been kind to her since the first day she had arrived. And Jessica had done nothing wrong lately, so this couldn't be right.  
  
Professor McGonagall advanced on her. "I said, come with me," she hissed. Jessica watched as an odd red gleam appeared in her eye.  
  
Suddenly Jessica felt as though her scar was on fire. She screamed and clutched her neck. Harry and Ron, who were up in the boy's dormitory, came running in. Upon entering, Harry's scar felt as though it were about to explode. He also began screaming. Professor McGonagall spun around, and lifted her wand. Ron was ready for her though. "Impedimenta!" he bellowed. The person who looked like Professor McGonagall, stopped moving and fell over backward. Ron looked pleased with himself for the use of his clever stunning spell, but his smile faded quickly as Jessica dissolved in to tears. She sat sobbing on her bed, Ron hurried over to her. Harry walked slowly, drenched in a cold sweat, and collapsed on the bed next to her.  
  
The real Professor McGonagall entered the room. Apparently she had been nearby, and had heard the screams. "What on Earth…" she began, but stopped dead at the sight of them. She saw herself lying unconscious on the floor, Jessica sitting huddled up sobbing, Harry sprawled out clutching his forehead, and Ron hovering awkwardly between them, unsure of which one to comfort first. She snapped her fingers, and ropes sprang up to bind the fake Professor McGonagall. She approached the bed and said quietly, "All three of you need to come with me." Ron helped Harry up, and Professor McGonagall helped Jessica. Looking very odd, they made their way to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey was rather distressed.  
  
"I can't believe this. There isn't nearly enough security in this castle, especially after all that's happened with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Yes, these children may be in here for quite some time. Do you know what it was that attacked them?" she asked.  
  
"Not yet, Poppy. But when we do determine it, we will let you know. I suspect that it was a Death Eater using a Polyjuice Potion, but I can't be sure until I've done a few tests," Professor McGonagall answered.  
  
"Really, Minerva," Madame Pomfrey said in a undertone, "Why do you think they would attack this girl? I mean, everyone knows why they want Potter here, but from the way it seems, that thing was trying to get at Jessica, and Potter and Weasley came to the rescue."  
  
Professor McGonagall shook her head and shrugged. The she turned to Ron. "That reminds me," she said simply, "You have shown a great amount of bravery. I award you twenty points for Gryffindor House." Turning back to Madame Pomfrey, she said, "If you'll excuse me. I must take the prisoner up to Dumbledore's office. I expect he'll want to have a look at it."  
  
Jessica was watching them from her bed. She had been put in the bed farthest away from the door. When she leaned forward, she could just catch a glimpse of Harry's untidy hair. He was in the bed next to hers, but there was a curtain pulled out halfway between them. Jessica wished it hadn't been there, then she could have seen their faces while they were talking. Harry was awake, and at one point, he leaned back and put his finger to his lips to silence her.  
  
They watched in silence as Professor McGonagall left, and when Madame Pomfrey turned to walk toward them, they quickly pretended to be ill. She broke up a huge chunk of chocolate and forced them to eat it. Jessica sat there, barely even nibbling her chocolate, and trying to think of a good reason why she would have been brought here. There must have been a reason, she thought.  
  
After Madame Pomfrey had force fed them large amounts of chocolate and left two goblets of sleeping potion on the stand between their beds, she bustled off in to her office, muttering about not enough security. Jessica spit a piece of chocolate in her hand. She felt like exploding, and the only reason she had taken the chocolate was because Madame Pomfrey refused to leave, and Jessica wanted a word with Harry.  
  
She looked over at his bed, and he sat up, pulling back the curtain.  
  
"You felt it too, didn't you?" he asked quietly.  
  
Jessica nodded. "Yes, I did," she answered in a whisper, "I could tell from the minute that thing entered the room, that it wasn't Professor McGonagall."  
  
"You know, that was a good question," Harry said thoughtfully, "I mean, I know why they would want me dead, but why would they want you, Jessica? Do you think maybe they know something about what you told me and Ron?"  
  
Jessica looked down at her hands. She had no idea why they would have wanted her. But somehow, she didn't want to admit this. "I don't know," she said softly, "but the more I think about it, the more confusing it becomes." She reached up and touched her neck. Suddenly, she looked very angry with herself and she dropped her hand quickly, looking away. "I should have listened to you," she said bitterly.  
  
Harry wondered what she was talking about for a minute, and then it dawned on him what she was talking about. He realized that she had probably had the same dream.  
  
"But what did that dream mean?" he asked.  
  
She continued to stare off in to space, not wanting to face him yet. Finally she said quietly, "Think of it this way, Harry. You have a dream, or rather, a nightmare. And somehow, I am included in it. It involves strong feelings of dark evil, am I correct?" she turned to look, and watched as he nodded. Turning back to the wall, she continued, "Now, somehow or another I got this scar during that dream. I suppose you must have seen what was happening better than I. I'm guessing that the man standing in the shadows tried to kill me just before I woke up. Do you know why he didn't succeed?" she asked. Harry continued to stare at her, he hadn't the faintest idea why she had survived. "It's because," she continued, "I was between world's at the moment. After you pushed me, I stumbled backward and fell. The exact moment that the curse was fired, my head had already entered the conscious world. The curse hit me at an angle. It did not do what it was intended. Instead, I think it gave me some kind of…power. I know it sounds ridiculous," she said quickly looking at Harry, "but I think that because the curse didn't work, I was given a sensor of evil, just like you." A long pause followed this speech. Harry was trying to process this theory. It was absurd, and yet, it made sense.  
  
Just then, Madame Pomfrey came back in to the room. She yelled at them for moving the curtain, and insisted that they drink their sleeping potion immediately. Jessica plugged her nose and drained the goblet. An impenetrable swell of drowsiness overcame her, and soon she felt herself drift off in to a deep dreamless sleep. 


	11. ~the unexpected confrontation~

Soon, they were on their third day in the hospital wing. They were beginning to get restless. Madame Pomfrey was making them stay another day, despite the fact that they both insisted they were fine.  
  
"Oh no you're not," Madame Pomfrey would say, "They found out what that thing was. A vampire under Polyjuice Potion! Really, now, I've seen people nearly die from looking at vampires!"  
  
Harry was reminded of his second year when he, Ron, and Hermione had drunk Polyjuice Potion. It changed Harry and Ron in to living replicas of Draco's friends, Crabbe and Goyle, so they could get in to the Slytherin Common Room. He shuddered, remembering the awful taste. He thought privately that if any vampire had taken Polyjuice Potion, it must have been force-fed.  
  
The next day, they left the hospital wing together. By the time Madame Pomfrey had let them go, it was nearly dinner. Jessica walked silently beside Harry, turning their ideas over in her head. During their stay at the hospital wing, they had come up with many possible reasons for why they would want to kill her. But the most likely was that she had been given some kind of power in that dream, and the death eaters certainly did not want their enemy to have powers. Not paying attention, she turned a corner, Harry was a few paces ahead of her. Had she been listening, she would have realized that the sound of his footsteps had disappeared, as he stopped dead. She bumped in to Harry as she turned.  
  
"Harry! What are you…" but the words got lost in her throat. She was still standing behind him, and she could feel him shaking with anger, his fists clenched in to little balls at his side. Curious, she peered around his shoulder.  
  
Draco Malfoy stood halfway down the passageway with his trollish friends, Crabbe and Goyle. He was grinning maliciously and clutching a piece of paper. It had writing on it, but at this distance, Jessica couldn't discern what it said. She moved to stand beside Harry.  
  
"Oh hello there, Muggle. I've just being sharing something with your boyfriend here," he grinned at Harry.  
  
"We're not dating," she said firmly. It was amazing, Harry thought, how much she can seem like Dumbledore in a crisis. She was radiating such a sense of power, that he saw Draco's smile falter, but he regained it quickly.  
  
"Oh is that so?" he said deviously, "Well this little bit of parchment here begs to differ," he waved the paper annoyingly, "but I suppose you wouldn't know that would you?" All three of them began to laugh. Their hideous laugh filled the corridor and rang throughout the empty classrooms.  
  
Harry remained shaking, Jessica could see him clenching and unclenching his fists. "You wouldn't dare," he hissed.  
  
"Oh wouldn't I, Potter?" he said, his smile fading. "We'll just see about that. Oh, here, by the way, you may want to have a look at that, Muggle," he said tossing her the paper.  
  
She caught it deftly, still wondering what they could be talking about. Looking down, she realized that it was an article cut out of the Daily Prophet newspaper. She leaned in closer to read it. A Muggle Maniac is Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was the title. She gave Draco a questioning look, but here merely grinned and nodded. She looked at Harry, and saw that he had turned ashen colored. His eyes filled with some kind of emotion. She couldn't recognize which one. Pity? Anger? Sorrow? Trying to shrug off this odd look, she turned back to the parchment. As reported by Rita Skeeter… Yes, I thought we had seen the end of the odd occurrences at this prestigious school with the hiring of a werewolf. But apparently, we have all been very much mistaken. Mere days ago, this was a perfectly normal school, however a strange visitor has arrived. A Muggle that claims to be of the name Jessica, has dropped from nowhere and is now attending the school. Apparently, Dumbledore sees no problem with this situation. Perhaps the most shocking news, is that of her new boyfriend. Our very own Harry Potter, whom this reporter has had the pleasure of meeting in person, has fallen for this mysterious stranger. They could be seen working together in Charms on the first day of their classes together, and have also been seen spending much of their free time together. How can Dumbledore put such a shady creature alongside Harry Potter in classes, you may ask yourself. But the most extraordinary element is that she is currently staying in Gryffindor Tower, with Harry's own house. Should this Muggle ever get the idea to harm Harry, she will have the perfect opportunity laid out for her. Perhaps we should ask ourselves whether Albus Dumbledore is still the best man for the job of Headmaster at Hogwarts. It then went on to list the many different uses for a niffler. She looked up from the article. She realized her mouth was hanging open, and shut it quickly. Turning to glare at Malfoy, she slammed the article down on the corridor floor.  
  
Harry caught the look on her face, and was suddenly worried that she was going to do something drastic. Malfoy was still grinning, even wider than before, if that was possible. She reached inside her robes, and for one wild moment, Harry thought she was going to pull out her wand.  
  
Malfoy saw this too, and said quietly, "What are you gonna do now, Muggle?"  
  
Her eyes flashed and she started to walk forward. She pulled herself up to an inch from Malfoy's face and said, "Was there ever a time when you weren't so damn cocky?"  
  
He looked shocked. "What are you talking about? You win, Crabbe, she is as dumb as she is ugly," he said venomously. Once again, the corridor rang with their laughter.  
  
She made no move, she remained close to his face. Jessica had to force herself to stand her ground. His breath was so putrid, she thought she might keel over. "I seem to remember a time," she whispered, "When you weren't quite so sure of yourself." Then, she drew out what she had her hand on inside her robe. Harry watched, puzzled, as what little color Malfoy had in his face disappeared.  
  
"You wouldn't," he said. And Harry was very surprised to hear a tone of panic in his voice.  
  
Crabbe and Goyle stood behind him, looking around for instructions. It was obvious that they were trying to see what was on that paper, but she wasn't showing it.  
  
"Wouldn't I?" she hissed, "Perhaps you'd like to ask Dumbledore about that?" She wasn't shouting, and her voice was steady with rage. It was almost as though she was taunting him, daring him to say something.  
  
"Whatever," he said, his voice shaking. "I don't care what you do with that paper. Show it to the world if you want. But our side is going to win. You know it. And you and your boyfriend are going to die, just like his pathetic parents. The Dark Lord killed them fifteen years ago, and now he's come back to finish…"  
  
But what exactly he was going to finish, Harry never found out. He had just started toward Malfoy, his hand reaching inside his robes for his wand, when Jessica grabbed him by the back of the head and thrust him in to the floor.  
  
"Don't you dare. Don't you ever, ever insult Harry's parents. I don't care what you say about me, I hope the world reads that article, infact. But if I ever catch you trying to harm anyone on the right side, there are going to be problems between me and you. And we don't want that, now do we?" she said. Harry stood with his wand dangling numbly from his hand. She had forced Malfoy to his knees and had him by the hair. "Right," she said, almost teasingly, "You can go now." She let go of his head. Crabbe and Goyle stood staring at Jessica in amazement as Malfoy got shakily to his feet.  
  
"My father…" Malfoy began through a bloody lip and a headache, but Jessica interrupted him.  
  
"Your father what? Not even daddy dearest can save you from what I can reveal about you," she hissed so viciously that Malfoy took a step back.  
  
He stood glaring at her for a full minute and finally muttered, rather resentfully, "Let's go." And he, Crabbe, and Goyle started off in the other direction. 


	12. ~dark marks in the air...~

"Come on, Harry. Let's go," she said, still glaring after their retreating figures. Once they had turned the corner she spun around to look at Harry. "What? What's wrong?" she asked, worried that he had sustained some kind of brain damage. He was standing, gaping at her, not realizing that he had dropped his wand.  
  
He stood at a lost for words for a moment. Finally he managed to croak out, "Wow."  
  
She laughed, a wonderful laugh that rang throughout the hall, echoing in the empty classrooms. She grabbed his arm and still laughing said, "Come on."  
  
  
  
Later, he, Ron, Hermione and Jessica sat around the Common Room fire, finishing their homework. Harry and Jessica we're working particularly hard, trying to catch up from their time in the hospital wing. All of them had been discussing the events of the past couple of days. Harry had just finished telling them the story of what had happened with Malfoy, and Ron was positively crying with mirth. Harry, Jessica, and Hermione joined in with his laughing, and after several minutes, Hermione cleared her throat and turned to Jessica.  
  
"So what was it that you showed Malfoy?" Hermione asked, still smiling.  
  
Harry watched as Jessica's face took on a look of shock, followed by an odd closed expression, and followed by confusion. Jessica looked around and realized they were all staring at her with mild concern. She gave a small laugh that no one believed, and shrugged.  
  
"Oh, well. I guess that's for me to know and you to find out," she said, teasingly. But her eyes gave her away. She looked terrified at the very thought that they might find out what she had shown Malfoy. Hermione looked somewhat shocked. But Ron seemed to not notice her strange reaction.  
  
"Awww come on, don't keep us in suspense!" Ron said pleadingly.  
  
Jessica stood up very quickly, sending her books crashing to the floor.  
  
"It's late isn't it?" she said loudly, "It is, well I better go to bed. Don't want to be tired tomorrow." She gave them a would-be cheerful wave, and practically ran back to her room.  
  
Now, even Ron could not deny the fact that she was acting oddly. The three of them sat staring at eachother, with their mouths hanging open.  
  
"What was that all about?" Hermione asked quietly.  
  
Harry shrugged, "I have no idea. But one of us should go and try to find out." The three of them sat and looked at eachother for a long time, until finally, Harry sighed and said, "Alright. I'll go." He stood up and started to walk toward the door. When he reached the knob he spun around and called out, "If I'm not back if ten minutes, assume I'm dead," he said with a grin. Ron, however, cast a sideways look at Hermione, who was looking very wary. He waved his hand at them, and opened the door.  
  
"Jessica?" he called quietly. The lights were not on, but there was a little relief from the darkness, coming from a candle situated on the night table. He could barely see three feet in front of him. "Jessica?" he said a little more confidently, "I want to talk to you. Where are you?" He had just taken a step forward, when she emerged from the shadows. Her pale skin was even more apparent in the near darkness.  
  
"Harry?" she whispered, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Oh," he said, suddenly struck dumb, "I, er, wanted to talk to you about what just happened out there." There was a long silence, and he had the distinct impression that she was sizing him up.  
  
"Alright," she said finally, "Come here, have a seat." She walked over to the night table, picked up the candle, and carried it to the window. Jessica tore the curtains open, and the dying daylight flooded the room. It was a nice room, Harry thought. The different shades of blue and gray gave it a quiet tone, and he noticed that it was fairly depressing. "Go on then, sit down," she said, motioning at the bed.  
  
He walked over to it, and sat down reluctantly. "Sorry there's no where else to sit," she said as she too sat down, "Now what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Harry looked at her for a moment. Her brown hair was slung over her shoulder, and she had little worry lines forming on her forehead. He was suddenly speechless.  
  
"Er," he said, stumbling to find the words, "Why did you get so upset when Hermione asked you that question about the thing you showed Malfoy?" His question came out in a blur of incoherent words, but she seemed to understand. She looked down at her hands, and picked at a fray on the blanket.  
  
"I dunno," she said quietly, "I really can't tell you what I showed him, not yet anyway." She quickly stopped fidgeting, and lifted her head. She opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly there was a tremendous bang. Harry felt the ground shake beneath his feet. It must have been an explosion, he thought. Jessica, however, stood up quickly and ran to the window. "Oh, oh," she was at a loss for words. She spun around to face Harry, and hissed, "Come here, right now! They've come! They've actually come!"  
  
These words made no sense to Harry, but he stood up quickly and raced toward the window. The grounds were eerily silent, but he could hear a muffled screaming coming from somewhere else inside the castle. At first, he couldn't see what was unusual, but when he lifted his head he saw it. The Dark Mark was floating sixty feet in the air above the courtyard. The Dark Mark was a gray smoke figure of a huge skull with a snake curved and positioned as the tongue. It was Voldemort's trademark sign, and only he and his Death eater followers knew the spell to create it. Just watching it float made the hair on Harry's head stand on end. He turned to face Jessica, and saw that she was already looking at him, her face a pale yellow.  
  
"I thought they were coming," she whispered faintly, "They're already here."  
  
Just then, Ron and Hermione threw the door open and came running in.  
  
  
  
* * * 


	13. ~what to do?!~

Mass chaos followed for several days. The staff was unsure of what to do. They had now stationed invisible guards throughout the school, and the security was increased tenfold. The Ministry had authorized several new enchantments to be placed upon the school, making it near impossible for any stranger to get on to the Hogwarts grounds. Yet still, no one could have been found walking alone in a corridor, and even the teachers seemed frightened. Perhaps the worst part of the whole ordeal was that people were pointing fingers at Jessica. The rumors were flying, and many were starting to believe them. Jessica couldn't walk down the hall without people pointing and whispering or trying to run away. Infact, one time she turned a corner, a pair of first year girls broke down in to terrified sobs and started to run. She was starting to become very frustrated with everyone's behavior, for even the teachers were starting to suspect her. Indeed, Professor Snape, who since the first day had stationed her at the back of the dungeon and never spoke to her, was starting to glare at her suspiciously. Before this incident, she could very well have slept during Potions, and he wouldn't have noticed. She also noted that now her every move was being watched by some person or another. The teachers stared at her in class, and the students kept a wary eye on her during breaks. It seemed to her that the only place she could get some peace was in her room. So one night, she found herself sitting on her bed, trying to concentrate on her Transfiguration homework. She found it hard however, because she her mind kept straying to the events of the day.  
  
A pair of second year Ravenclaws had thrown paper at her in the hall, and a Hufflepuff had become hysterical at the sight of her. Perhaps the worst part was when a couple of seventh year Slytherins enchanted her books so that they would fly out of her arms and zoom around her head at any given moment. She still hadn't been able to catch her Arithmancy book. Jessica looked up and watched as it drifted lazily three feet above her head. Sighing, she turned back to her homework. The Gryffindors were being halfway decent, but perhaps it was just out of fear. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the only ones that still wanted to know her.  
  
She sat, milling over the day in her head, and suddenly found herself quite angry. This isn't fair!, she thought, I shouldn't have to put up with this! She slammed her book shut and strode out of her room.  
  
Ever since the Dark Mark had been sent up, the teachers had been having daily meetings. None of the students were supposed to know about these, but it was hard not to notice that the teachers all disappeared around six o'clock in the evening.  
  
Jessica walked down to the staff room. She had just raised her hand to knock, when she heard voices drifting toward her. Something inside of her held her hand back, and she stood frozen, trying to identify them. Soon, she recognized Professor McGonagall's stern voice, and at the moment, she sounded quite scared. Intrigued, she shifted quietly to the left. The door was open a tiny crack, and by shifting, she could just barely see inside. Professor Dumbledore sat at the head of the table, his face was grim and pale. The other teachers stood huddled around the table, some had their hands clasped on their mouths, others were looking disbelieving. McGonagall had just gotten to her feet and was talking in a very quiet and shaky voice.  
  
"How many were found, Albus?" she asked quietly.  
  
Professor Dumbledore looked down at the table and then back at her. "Twenty five so far, Minerva," he answered quietly.  
  
Snape gripped his hands together very hard. "But sir, is there a chance that there could be more?" he asked harshly.  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed there is Severus," he said, "However, we do have our best forces out there right now, searching the Forbidden Forest for more bodies."  
  
Jessica jumped a little. Bodies? And what did that have to do with the Forbidden Forest and the Dark Mark? Jessica wondered as she stared at the dark floor. Suddenly, she realized that the Dark Mark had been floating oddly close to the Forbidden Forest…  
  
"Twenty five Aurors, blimey," Hagrid whispered shakily. She leaned forward even more and saw that he was leaning against the wall, shrinking in to the shadows.  
  
"Yes, Hagrid. It is indeed a very disturbing bit of news, however, the students must never learn of it. For now, all of the outside classes will be held in the spare dungeons. These new statures will remain until we can be positive that we have collected all of the bodies," Dumbledore said gravely.  
  
"But more importantly," Professor McGonagall said suddenly, "What are we going to do? There are only so many Aurors out there to kill dark wizards! And at the rate that the dark side is growing, we have no hope of training enough wizards to take their place." Jessica saw that she was clearly panicking.  
  
Professor Dumbledore leaned forward on the table and said, "I do not know Minerva." There was a long pause and the Dumbledore said quietly, "There is a legend, however. A legend that has been kept secret for a very long time. It goes back to the dawn of the magical world. The story says that at the creation of magic, there was a prophet who said that one day a Dark Lord was going to rise, twice." He paused to clear his throat and let the teachers absorb this information. "The legend goes," he continued, "That, despite the fact that they were unsure of the factuality of this statement, the wizards and witches had a meeting and elected ten people. Ten people who now hold the fate of the world. They sent them to different locations and different worlds. They had been given a special potion that is long since lost in the pages of time. This potion enabled them to live an immortal life, so that no matter when the Dark Forces gained power, they could be summoned to do battle." A very tense pause followed this statement.  
  
"I have also heard this legend," tiny Professor Flitwick said, "But how do we summon them, Dumbledore?" He was gripping the edge of his chair, looking like a child listening to a fairy tale.  
  
"There is," Dumbledore continued simply, "Only one known way of summoning them. They were each given a communicator that, when properly activated, would become a Portkey, and transport the holder back to London." He glanced around the room, and finally his eyes fell on Professor Trelawny, the Divination teacher. "Sybill," he said quietly, "I will ask you to please look in to finding that spell. As I already have jobs in mind for the other professors, I must ask this of you. Will you do it?" he asked.  
  
She looked distinctly flustered. It was a well known fact that she thought coming down out of her office fogged her inner eye, and blocked her ability to predict the future. This had never actually been proven, but she still believed it was real.  
  
"Very well, Professor Dumbledore," she said resentfully. Dumbledore nodded and turned to the other teachers. Jessica stood stunned in the doorway, not taking in what he was saying to the teachers. Suddenly, she heard the scraping of chairs and realized that they were leaving the staff room. She turned and started to run back down the corridor. Jessica did not stop running until she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, which was the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.  
  
"Chocolate Frogs is the password," she gasped, panting for breath. The Fat Lady nodded, and, looking somewhat concerned, swung forward to admit her. Jessica stumbled in and scanned wildly around for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Finally, her eyes fell upon them. They were sitting by the fire studying, but they were not alone. A girl that was perhaps a year younger than them was sitting beside Hermione. Jessica recognized her red hair and brown eyes. She knew in an instant that it was Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister. Jessica's stomach dropped, she didn't want to tell them what had happened in front of Ginny. She stood for a moment, and suddenly had an idea.  
  
She approached them carefully. Hermione had just lifted her head, and upon seeing her she smiled and said, "Hello, Jess. We've just been looking for you. We're working on Arithmancy right now…" She stopped dead at the look on Jessica's face. She was looking extremely anxious.  
  
"Oh, well. I just had to ask Professor McGonagall a question about our homework for Monday. I couldn't find her though, so maybe you guys could help me," she said hurriedly, with a pointed look at them.  
  
Harry shut his book. "Alright," he said, "What's the problem?"  
  
"Um, well maybe I should show you. It's kind of hard to explain," she said, sounding somewhat exasperated. Harry raised his eyebrows quizzically, and Jessica widened her eyes. How can he be so thick?, she asked herself.  
  
Hermione, however, had got the point. She turned to Ron and Harry, "Come on, you guys. I may need some help," she said. Then she turned to Ginny. "You stay here, Ginny. We'll be right back, and besides, you don't even have Transfiguration."  
  
Ginny looked a little suspicious, but finally shrugged and went back to her Divination. Jessica had to work very hard to hide her sigh of relief. She beckoned to the three of them, and led them in to her room. 


	14. ~the ideas~

Ron sat gaping at her, Hermione had her hands clasped to her mouth, and Harry's eyes had become so large, she thought they might fall out of his head. Jessica had just finished telling them of the conversation she had overheard. Jessica nodded, and as she watched, Hermione lowered her hands from her mouth.  
  
"They found all of the in the Forbidden Forest?" she asked shakily. Again, Jessica nodded.  
  
"But how did the killers get on and off the grounds without anyone noticing them?" Ron asked, not really expecting an answer.  
  
Jessica looked down at her hands. "I dunno," she whispered, "But I do have a question. Professor McGonagall said that there were only "so many" Aurors out there to kill dark wizards. How many are there?" she asked.  
  
Everyone looked at Hermione. She put on a look of deep concentration, and finally she said slowly, "The last time I researched them, there was about twenty eight found world wide." And then, catching the looks on their faces, she added hurriedly, "But that number may have gone up since then. I haven't looked it up for a month."  
  
"Don't be stupid," Ron said irritably, "There's no way that they could have trained enough Aurors to replace all those dead ones." He realized what he had said after it was out of his mouth, and caught his mistake quickly. "Sorry Hermione. You're not being stupid," he said. She gave him an appraising look and then nodded, turning back to the conversation.  
  
"Has it hit the newspapers yet?" Harry wondered aloud.  
  
"I don't think so," Hermione said, "I've been getting the Daily Prophet delivered, and I haven't seen anything about it. But who knows what the Skeeter woman will do to get the story," Hermione added with a scowl. Harry nodded. He remembered how annoyingly persistent she was to get her hands on anything incriminating. And she already knew about Jessica, so she'd probably try and make this whole thing seem like her fault.  
  
He sat and thought for a long moment. No, he thought. No, she had been in the room with him when it had happened, there was no way she could have done it. He was angry with himself for even considering that as a possibility. It is however, said another voice in the back of his mind, odd that they should trust her, when they haven't even known her for a month. He was considering this fact when Ron broke the silence.  
  
"Well, I think the real question is, what are we gonna do?" he asked, somewhat impatiently.  
  
"Oh Ron," Hermione said, "I don't think we should get involved in this. I mean, Aurors are specifically trained to kill dark wizards, and if they couldn't even handle this…" she trailed off in to silence for a moment. Finally, composing herself she said, "If they couldn't handle it, then I don't want to know what it is at all."  
  
"Hermione!" said Ron, exasperated, "Harry has been up against You- Know-Who how many times? And he's still alive isn't he? Well, whoever did this can't possibly be worse the You-Know-Who can they?"  
  
"But that's exactly what I'm worried about Ron!" Hermione interrupted, "I think it may actually be You-Know-Who that did this!"  
  
There was a long silence, and finally Ron said, "You're nutters. There's no way You-Know-Who could have gotten on the grounds. The security is too intense. No. It had to be someone they wouldn't suspect, and now that Voldemort's got his body back, he'd be easy enough to recognize wouldn't he?'  
  
Again, there was a long silence. But this time, it was Harry who broke it. "He's done it before, Ron," he said, thinking very hard, "And I don't expect it would be too hard for him to get one of his Death Eaters to get him on to the grounds." The he turned to Jessica, "I think that right now we should decide what we can do to help."  
  
"Well," Jessica said slowly, "The teachers are trying to get those communicators working, so until then…"  
  
"Wait," Hermione suddenly interrupted, "I've read about that before. That's no legend. That's true, and if the teachers can find that spell to activate those communicators, then we may stand a chance…"  
  
"But what if they can't?" Jessica interjected. She noticed they were all looking at her in mild surprise. True, even she had been surprised by her sudden show of enthusiasm, but it was an urgent matter.  
  
"What I mean," she continued calmly, "Is that we need another plan. We need help." She stopped and thought for a moment, "But first, we need to find out those Auror's real identities." 


	15. ~the past is revealed~

The next Monday, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jessica all went to the staff meeting. As soon as they reached the door, they heard the voices drifting toward them. They stood huddled together out of sight, beyond the door. They could see through a tiny crack, and from the looks of it, no one had good news.  
  
"I have succeeded in finding the spell," Professor Trelawny said in her quite mysterious voice, "However, I am afraid that it is an ancient rune, so I will leave it open to the staff to interpret. I, as you all know, specialize only in unveiling the mysteries of the future."  
  
"Very well, Sybill. Will you please give the paper to Professor Sinistra, I believe she will be able to interpret it for us." There was a sound of bangles clicking together and paper sliding across wood. Through the crack between the door and the frame, they could see Professor Sinistra scoop up the piece of parchment and study it intensely. She held it close to her face, muttering under her breath, Finally she set the parchment back on the table and smiled at Professor Dumbledore.  
  
"It is a very simple spell. It is only four words. The rest is merely there to confuse the people trying to interpret it," she said. Harry realized that he had never heard her speak before. Her voice was soft and musical, and made Harry think of a carousel at a carnival. Slow and melodic.  
  
"Very well, and what is the spell?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"birung kab hawts goftren!" she said in her strange drawl.  
  
Hermione cast a side long glance at the three of them, which said all too clearly, "I've read that somewhere before."  
  
Dumbledore nodded, and turned to Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall.  
  
"And have you two had any luck finding the names of these Aurors?" he asked them.  
  
Snape looked at McGonagall who nodded, and shuffled the papers in front of her. "Yes," she said, obviously pleased with herself, "It took a fair bit of work, mind you. They only wrote it in one document, as I'm sure they didn't want everyone knowing the truth." She looked around and continued, "The names of these people are as follows. Albert Terulty, Isabel Hebwofs, Dilan Chertun, Seria Ontenegro, Kila Zurk, Jacob Gusweny, Alfred Elithab, Yana Lukra, Saria Evans, and finally," here she stared around importantly, "Vincent Ciccone." There was a lingering silence after these words.  
  
"What on Earth does all this mean?" Professor Flitwick asked urgently.  
  
"It means," Dumbledore said calmly, "that we have a very unusual mystery on our hands."  
  
Professor Trelawny smiled her simpering dewy smile.  
  
"Say no more," she said, "If you will excuse me, I will go and consult the crystal orb. Perhaps then we shall understand this situation more clearly." They heard her many necklaces and bracelets clicking as she stood. Jessica's stomach dropped. In a moment she would come walking out the door they were trying to hide behind. Apparently, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had realized this too. They straightened up, and took off running down the corridor. They ran until they could no longer hear her footsteps, then, panting, they stopped to take a look around. Harry noticed an empty classroom nearby and beckoned them over to it.  
  
The four of them walked in, and Ron shut the door quietly behind him. None of them knew what to say. Jessica didn't mind the silence, her own thoughts were racing. Elithab? Alfred Elithab? Her old English teacher? Funny, she thought, it seems so long ago. It seems like another world, but he couldn't be an Auror! But then again, she thought wryly, everyone did say that he's been around since the beginning of time. But no, she thought suddenly, there was no such thing as magic where she came from, was there? The wave of her tumbling thoughts was interrupted by Hermione.  
  
"Ciccone?" she wondered aloud, "Hmm. Jessica, did you by chance have an ancestor by the name of Vincent?"  
  
Jessica shrugged. She had never known much about her family's past. Infact, she only had a vague guess of what nationalities she was. I wish I'd done that family tree in Social Studies class last year, she thought bitterly. But wait, she thought abruptly, she had once asked her mom about her family's history. Her mother's reaction had been very strange indeed, she admitted to herself, turning over the memory inside of her mind. Her mother's eyes had misted over, and she turned away. She didn't speak for a long time, and when she finally did, it was in an odd and constrained voice.  
  
"Your grandparents were killed in a plane crash. I was only six at the time. And because I was an only child, I've never known anything about our family," she said quietly, "The foster family that raised me tried to help me find information, but there wasn't any to be found. It's almost as if they didn't exist…"  
  
Jessica stood in the dark classroom, looking at Harry, Ron, and Hermione's darkened faces. She considered telling them of this conversation, but there was no point. She already knew the truth. She was related to Vincent Ciccone, it explained the fact that her family was untraceable. In her veins ran the blood of Vincent Ciccone, one of the ten Aurors of destiny. 


	16. ~the portkeys~

They all agreed that they needed to get to work. The teachers found the spell and the names, the rest was up to them. Hermione was spending all of her time in the library researching how to focus all of her power on to one spell. They had come to an agreement that she should be the one to perform it, being the most capable out of the four of them. Ron had written down the names while they were still fresh in his mind, and was trying to find out about their pasts. Harry's job was to go to the staff meetings wearing the invisibility cloak, and check on the teacher's progress. Jessica had been left to find out where the Auror's were living.  
  
This task, easy as it may seem, proved to be exceedingly difficult. Dumbledore had been right, they didn't want to be found by just anyone. She walked dispiritedly down an aisle in the library. She had given up hope of ever finding the information she needed, but decided that she could use some exercise. As she turned a corner at the end of the row, she caught a glimpse of a table of Ravenclaws. She paid them no attention and kept walking, until she heard part of what they were saying.  
  
"Oh, Melanie, I don't know. He's alright, I guess. But I don't think I like him that way."  
  
"Come on, Cho. Tons of girls would absolutely die if he liked them…"  
  
Cho? She stopped walking and slowly retraced her steps. Careful not to let anyone spot her, she peeked around the bookcase and caught a glimpse of the people talking. A girl she recognized as Cho Change was sitting at the table with four of her friends. None of them had been in the book, not as main characters anyway. The girl, who Jessica assumed was Melanie, had long straight hair, almost down to her waist. She was very pretty and looked as though she were perhaps seventeen. She was frowning and trying to explain something to Cho, who clearly didn't see it her way. The book had not been lying. Cho was indeed very pretty, but there was something about her that made Jessica uncomfortable. As Jessica watched, Cho shook her head impatiently.  
  
"Well," said a girl sitting next to Melanie, "I know I'd be really happy if I knew the Harry Potter liked me. You're such a lucky girl, and you don't even realize it!" This new girl had long blonde curly hair.  
  
"Really, Elizabeth Cho said, going very red, "I don't even know if he likes me for sure."  
  
"Oh I know that he does," said the fourth girl, who had not yet spoken. There was something extraordinarily sinister about this girl. She had short blonde hair, and a pleasant face. But there was something wrong about her eyes. They were hard and cold, and even her warm, cheerful smile couldn't hide them.  
  
"Faith, stop," Cho said, embarrassed, "You're embarrassing me…"  
  
At this, the girl who was supposedly named Faith smiled widely. "Leave it to me," she whispered. She stood up and started walking over to the row where Jessica was standing. As she quickly approached, Jessica realized that she didn't have time to run. She reached down and picked up the closest book. She was thumbing through it when Faith came around the corner. Jessica looked up as she came closer, and gave her a small smile that Faith did not return. Quite the contrary, she gave her a very shrewd, calculating look.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked in a would-be-casual voice.  
  
Jessica blushed, and then remembering her plan, she held up her book and grinned.  
  
"Oh nothing, nothing. Just uh…" she looked quickly down at the book in her hands. Her face fell. "Just uh, researching some stuff," she said quickly trying to cover it up.  
  
Faith leaned forward to get a look at the cover.  
  
"101 ways to cure dragon rot?" she read aloud.  
  
"Ya, it's just some, um, background reading," she said simply. "Oh look at the time!" she said hurriedly, "I better be off! I'll see you sometime later, ok?"  
  
She turned on her heel and raced from the library. That, she thought as she ran panting back to the Fat Lady, was too…close. And what was all that about Cho and Harry?, she wondered. She climbed back through the portrait hole, and found Ron and Hermione sitting in front of the fire, talking quietly.  
  
She walked slowly over to them, clutching a stitch in her side.  
  
Ron looked up and saw her. "Where were you?" he asked startled as she collapsed breathless in to a nearby chair. She waved her hand impatiently.  
  
"Never mind that," she snapped, "Did you two find anything?" Ron looked at Hermione who looked back at Jessica.  
  
"Kind of," she said timidly.  
  
Jessica's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point. "What do you mean 'kind of'?" she asked, becoming more impatient by the second.  
  
"What she means is that we found out something that we shouldn't have found out," Ron said hurriedly.  
  
Jessica's irritation faded to confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked faintly.  
  
"We mean," Hermione said slowly, "That two of the Aurors had a…romantic period…"  
  
"Two of the Aurors had twins," Ron blurted out.  
  
Somehow, Jessica couldn't see what was so extraordinary about this.  
  
"Anddd…" she said, her irritation rising again.  
  
"And," Ron continued, "They were Saria Evans and Vincent Ciccone."  
  
"Well what does that mean to me? Did it have some kind of effect on the rest of them?" Jessica asked.  
  
"Not necessarily," Hermione said slowly, "but, something happened. After they had the twins, they couldn't decide on which name to use. Of course, they were worried their kids would be in danger if they were found out, so they decided to use each of their last names for one child. They named their kids Paul Evans, and Jeremy Ciccone." Here Hermione cast a sidelong glance at Jessica. "Do you know what Harry's mother's maiden name was, by any chance?"  
  
"No," Jessica said blankly. What kind of question was that?  
  
"It was Evans," Ron said slowly, "Which gives us reason to believe that you and Harry are the result of Saria Evans and Vincent Ciccone."  
  
Jessica opened her mouth to say that that was ridiculous, but just then, Harry, red faced and panting came bursting through the portrait hole and ran toward them.  
  
"It….didn't….work!" he panted.  
  
"Woah, Harry, calm down," Ron said as he helped him in to a chair. "Now what were you saying?"  
  
"I'm saying," Harry replied with some annoyance, "That the teachers tried the spell, and it didn't work! They could only get six of the Aurors to respond! The other's communicators are malfunctioning, and six isn't enough to kill even a poorly equipped Dark Wizard! They're calling the Ministry of Magic! They may have to close the school!" Hermione clasped her hands to her mouth, Ron looked shocked, however, Jessica had just made up her mind.  
  
"I think it's time we took matters completely in to our own hands," she said quietly  
  
The next few weeks were devoted entirely to their agreed mission. Hermione and Jessica had been researching how to create a Portkey that was the most powerful the magical world could offer. It seemed that they may have to rely on the "Equanum Portul", the seemingly most powerful one in the universe. But would it be enough? Jessica often wondered. Ron had toiled tirelessly for weeks, trying to find their locations, and finally, he had persuaded Professor Flitwick to sign a pass so he could get a book out of the Restricted Section. In it, they had found all the information they had needed.  
  
All four of them now had to combine their power to get the Portkey to work. It would be a difficult task at the best of times, so they decided to wait until the first clear night of the month. As it happened, this night fell on February 29th, as it was a leap year.  
  
Jessica, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat awake in the Common Room that night. Waiting for the last people to go up to bed. None of them were speaking, they were too busy focusing all of their energy on the task ahead. At midnight, the last two girls went up to bed. Hermione nodded to them and they rose and left silently. Harry, Ron, and Hermione huddled under the invisibility cloak, and Jessica walked along beside them. They had planned that if anyone stopped them, she would say she had forgotten the way to Gryffindor Tower, and then go to the Astronomy tower as soon as the coast was clear.  
  
In one corridor, they saw Peeves floating along, stuffing chewing gum into keyholes, but they ignored him, and he ignored them. Possibly because of Jessica's earlier threat, he hadn't bothered them in quite some time.  
  
After what seemed like an hour, they reached the entrance to the highest Astronomy tower. They crept up it silently, and once they were at the top, Harry, Ron, and Hermione threw off the cloak and took out their wands.  
  
The four of them stood in a circle. This task had to be performed quickly, or the wind might pick up and blow their Portkey away. They had decided to use an envelope addressed to each Auror as a Portkey, simple yet direct. Hermione raised her wand over the envelopes and the others followed suit. "Nunctam Elam Hutarm Keptor," she said quietly, then she signaled for the rest of them to follow her.  
  
They all repeated this spell, and then Hermione raised her wand-free hand and said, "Equanum Portul!" For a moment nothing happened. Jessica's stomach sank horribly. They had failed. Just as she was ready to drop her wand, the envelopes glowed scarlet. Suddenly, and with a faint pop, they disappeared, leaving Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jessica standing alone on the tower, hoping that this would all work out. 


	17. ~unexpected arrival~

"Hello Polly," Amanda cooed. She dumped her book bag on the floor and slumped in to her computer chair. Reaching down to pet Polly she sighed heavily. Why is life so complicated for me? She wondered as she reached around to scratch behind Polly's ears. Just a few years ago she had found out about her parents divorce. It had been hard enough to deal with that, but when she found out her mother was getting remarried, well, she didn't like to think about. She smiled down at Polly. When she had gotten her nine years ago, life had seemed so innocent, so perfect. Amanda had known nothing of divorce, hurt, pain, loss. Somehow, looking at the little bichon frise made her feel like she was little again. Worried about nothing more than the playground bullies, or scraping her knee. She shook her head sadly and went to go get something to eat.  
  
Her mother had left a note of the refrigerator. "Don't worry about the mail, I've already brought it in. But there was a letter for Mr. Elithab. I tried to take it over to him, but he wasn't home." That's odd, Amanda thought, he's usually always either at home or at school. Shaking her head she looked back at the paper, "So I would appreciate it if you'd take it over to him and see if he's home. I'll be home around seven. Pizza for dinner." Her eyes sank down to the last paragraph, "P.S. Don't forget to do your homework!" Amanda smiled to herself, and tucked the note in to a drawer. Her mother reminded her every night to do her homework, and she had never yet turned in a late assignment.  
  
After an hour of television, she resigned to the nagging sensation at the back of her mind and went to do her homework. She flopped on to her bed and opened her Social Studies book. I wonder where Jessica could be, she wondered. They had an upcoming project due and Jessica had been absent for weeks now. Amanda had tried calling her, but her parents never answered the phone. But what else is odd, Amanda thought suddenly, is how John, who she knew Jessica had liked, wasn't being his funny self lately. He looked pale and stressed and whenever someone mentioned sweethearts, he would turn red and change the subject. Shaking her head, she turned back to her book. It was getting dark outside.  
  
"Oh no," she said to herself, "the mail." She went out in to the hall and spotted the small pile of letters sitting on the table. She thumbed through it lazily, until she came to a letter that certainly wasn't meant for her house. It was a brown parchment envelope that had Mr. Elithab inscribed on the front. Set reached out her right hand to pick it up. But the second her fingers made contact with the paper, she felt a jerk from somewhere behind her navel and she was falling in to nothing.  
  
Back at Hogwarts, Jessica, Harry, and Hermione sat in the Common Room waiting for Ron to return. It had been two days since they sent off the Portkeys and Ron had been checking the staff meetings to see if they knew anything about it.  
  
Soon, he returned shaking his head, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. These days, Jessica was finding it harder and harder to get a good night's sleep. She was becoming even paler than before, and the bottom of her eyes were turning puffy and shadowy. The three of them had noticed this change, but whenever they asked what was causing it, she would simply shrug and hastily change the subject.  
  
The truth was that Jessica was becoming extremely homesick. She hadn't been prepared to just up and leave everything she knew. Her family, friends, infact, her entire life was back in little Poland, Ohio. She longed for it now like she never thought she could. She often thought of her school. The humid hallways, the crazy students, and the stupid, yet fun, teachers. She sighed, wishing she could have it all back. But most of all, she admitted sadly, she missed John. She had made him a promise that she couldn't keep. Sweetheart's was a big dance for both of them, they had both really wanted to go. And when she sat down and thought about it, she realized she really did love…crash. A banging sound was coming from her room, followed by a series of screams. She stood up and quickly ran to the door. Jessica paused with her hand on the knob, wondering whether or not it was a good idea to enter. But she had to, she decided. Throwing caution to the wind, she flung open the door.  
  
A girl was standing trembling with fear in the far corner of her room. She seemed too scared to scream. Her eyes were wide behind her oval glasses. Her blonde highlighted hair was messy on her shoulders, and she was visibly shaking all over. As Jessica stood stunned in the doorway, studying her, she realized that it looked like….oh, but it couldn't be, she thought slowly…  
  
"Amanda?" Jessica said in little more than a whisper.  
  
Amanda's eyes widened like a deer's that had been caught in a headlight.  
  
"Jessica?" she said in a shaky voice.  
  
Jessica nodded. Amanda broke down in to sobs. Jessica hurried over to her, and put an arm around her. Still too stunned to speak, they stood quiet for a moment. Finally Jessica found her voice.  
  
"How did you get here?" she asked quietly.  
  
At this question, Amanda stopped shaking and looked up at Jessica. "I don't know," she said finally, "I just know there was this letter, and I…"  
  
"Letter?" Jessica said suddenly, "What letter? Who was it addressed to?"  
  
Amanda thought for a minute. "Mr. Elithab," she said finally.  
  
Jessica felt the blood drain from her face.  
  
"I think you'd better come with me, Amanda," she said softly. 


	18. ~biggg trouble~

"But it's impossible!" Hermione cried, massaging her knuckles in to her forehead.  
  
"Why is it impossible?" Ron asked, equally exasperated.  
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione, Jessica, and Amanda sat around the fire in the Common Room. Amanda still couldn't believe where she was. Jessica understood how she felt. All Amanda was capable of doing was sitting and staring with her mouth open, taking in her surroundings.  
  
"It's impossible," Hermione said, "because the incantation we said before the spell made it impossible for anyone that didn't have his blood in them to activate the Portkey!" She shook her head, apparently bewildered.  
  
There was a long silence. Finally Amanda found her voice.  
  
"But how could it have brought me here then?" she asked in a cracked whisper.  
  
Jessica turned to her. "Well, are you related to Mr. Elithab in any way?"  
  
Amanda shook her head. "No," she said quietly, "And even if I was, how come it didn't take my mom when she touched it. She said she'd tried to take it over, but he hadn't been home."  
  
Jessica was a little shocked. "Mr. Elithab wasn't home?" she asked incredulously. Everyone in Poland knew that if he wasn't at his house, he was at school. He simply didn't go anywhere else. It was even a mystery how he got his groceries, but everyone just assumed that he had someone bring them to him.  
  
Amanda nodded. "I thought that was strange too," she said.  
  
"We must have made a mistake with the spell," Ron said, shrugging.  
  
"I don't think so," Harry said slowly.  
  
"Well there's no other logical explanation!" Hermione snapped. It seemed like she was turning her confusion in to frustration.  
  
"Wait a minute," Jessica said suddenly, as a thought struck her. "Amanda," she said turning to her, "Didn't your mom just get remarried a few years ago?" Amanda nodded, not understanding what Jessica was getting at. "Well," Jessica pressed on, "What about your real father? What do you know about his past?"  
  
Amanda looked down at her hands, thinking very hard.  
  
"Well," she began slowly, "I know that his parents were very strange. They disappeared when he was seven or so, and he never saw them again. He ended up being raised by his grandparents. I remember when I was doing a family tree last year, I called him to find out about his past. He didn't say anything for a long time, and when he finally did, all he would tell me is that our family was completely untraceable," she stopped for a moment, still thinking. Then as a thought stuck her, she said suddenly, "And when I asked if mom could tell me anything about it, he got really mad and said that she wouldn't because he didn't know himself." Amanda looked at them and cocked her head. "Come to think of it," she said slowly, "He acted really strange on the phone that day."  
  
Jessica sat staring at Amanda. "The same thing happened when I asked my mom about her past, she wouldn't give me any answers..."  
  
"But that can't mean...", Amanda began  
  
"Yes, it does," Jessica said suddenly, "You're related to one of the Auror's. You're another descendent."  
  
Suddenly, Jessica winced and grabbed her neck.  
  
"What is it? What's wrong?" Hermione asked urgently.  
  
Jessica just shook her head, she felt as though someone had closed of the base of her throat. She gasped for breath, and tried to focus her eyes. Everything was going blurry, she couldn't breathe.  
  
As they watched, she started to slide off of the chair. Realizing what was going to happen, Harry's Quidditch reflexes kicked in. He dove forward and caught her as she fell to the floor. He propped her up on the chair, and started shaking her to get her to wake up.  
  
She was moving her mouth, but no sounds were coming out. Her eyes slid out of focus, and suddenly, she started to speak.  
  
"It's coming," she whispered in a voice very unlike her own. It was harsh and low, and clearly startled everyone sitting around her.  
  
"What's coming?" Ron asked slowly, looking at Harry.  
  
Harry shrugged and turned back to Jessica. He shook her gently again.  
  
Her head lolled to the side, and she once again started speaking in that strange voice. "The three united will fall. Their blood will spill on the Forest floor. Beware putsh helta noct ami." Harry let go of her shoulders and sat back on his heels. He didn't know what to do, but as he watched Jessica, her head snapped up.  
  
"What?" she asked looking at their startled faces.  
  
"A rune," Hermione said, somewhat scared, "You just said an ancient rune that didn't make any sense..."  
  
Jessica was confused. She reached up and touched her neck.  
  
"It's the strangest thing," she said awkwardly, "My scar is tingling."  
  
Harry looked at her, then back at Amanda. "Is she big on practical jokes?" he asked, feeling somewhat stupid. He knew what had just happened had been real, but he still wanted to find a way to prove that it had not been. He watched Amanda, she shook her head slowly.  
  
"The three united," Ron muttered under his breath.  
  
Hermione had turned an ashen color. "It was about you three," she whispered, looking at Harry, Jessica, and Amanda, "The three united. You're all descendants. Whoever killed those Auror's wants you dead now too."  
  
"But the rune," Ron said, still trying to work out Hermione's theory, "What did the rune mean?"  
  
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out."  
  
She stood up and left the Common Room quickly.  
  
Amanda stood up too. "I think I'll go and lie down. Jessica, can I use your room?" she asked. Jessica nodded, and Amanda left.  
  
Ron, however, sat staring at Harry. "Harry," he said slowly, "Why didn't your scar bother you?"  
  
Harry didn't know what to say. He didn't know either. Come to think of it, he thought suddenly, his scar hadn't been bothering him for quite some time. Infact, he had completely forgotten it was there. He turned back to Jessica. He had just opened his mouth when Ron interrupted him.  
  
"What are we gonna tell Dumbledore?" Ron wondered aloud.  
  
Harry hadn't thought of that. Telling Dumbledore about Amanda would mean admitting that they knew what was happening, and that they had created four illegal Portkeys. Harry grimaced. Confessing this would lead to a lot of sticky questions. Why were they listening to private conversations? Why were they in the halls after hours? And most importantly, if the professors couldn't handle it, what made them think that they, as 15 year olds, could?  
  
Ron let out a long low whistle. "We're in big trouble." 


	19. ~the plan...::shifty eyes::....

It took them the better part of the weekend to come up with a plan. The more they had thought about it, the fewer options there seemed to be. There was no way that they could hide Amanda long enough for them to carry out their plan. The only option that they could see was to go to Dumbledore. Harry was sure that any other teacher would try to expel them, but for some reason, Dumbledore had always been open to accepting odd situations. It took long hours of arguing, but they decided the best time to go was on March 13^th, the night of the full moon.  
  
Jessica had convinced them that this was the best day to go. She recalled reading somewhere that in the occasion of a full moon, people's attitudes are changed greatly, and as they were sure Dumbledore would be exceedingly angry with them, perhaps now they would stand a chance.  
  
Amanda did not share their small amount of enthusiasm at this idea.  
  
"But guys," she had said, "what if he banishes me, and makes me go back? I don't want to go...not until I've helped you somehow. I just can't leave now, I just cant."  
  
Jessica looked at her sympathetically, and suddenly felt very guilty. Jessica herself had been wishing every day that none of this would have ever happened. She wanted to go home very badly. At first, she thought that meeting Harry Potter and going to school with him would be an extraordinary experience. However, after all that had happened, she realized that they were all on the same level. Neither of them had any idea of what they were going to do, and perhaps the only thing that kept them going was the hope that tomorrow brought.  
  
Despite the realization that he was just a normal guy, well not entirely, but still, she couldn't shake off the words of her last conversation alone with Ron and Hermione. Vincent Ciccone and Saria Evans...No! It was ridiculous...absurd even! But still, if she really believe that it wasn't true, then why did her mind keep wandering back to that same thought: What if I do have some ancient connection with Harry?  
  
Her questions raged through her mind as she sat in her room with Hermione, Ron, and Amanda on the 13^th of March, waiting for Harry to return from Quidditch practice.  
  
They sat in her room for close to fifteen minutes, until finally Hermione spoke.  
  
"Why did he have to go to Quidditch practice, again? Doesn't he realize that this is perhaps a little bit more important than that stupid sport!?"  
  
Ron gaped at her. "Stupid...sport?"  
  
Hermione nodded her head sharply and glared at him, almost daring him to say something.  
  
Ron's eyes widened and he started shaking his head in disbelief. His mouth open and closed like a fish gasping for air. Jessica almost started laughing, but she was able to control it. Hermione however gave him a wide grin and went to open the door to see if Harry was coming. But the moment she reached the door, it was opened by Harry, drenched in that rain from outside and trying to wipe the mud off his shoes before he came in Jessica's room.  
  
Jessica noticed what he was doing, and waved her hand impatiently. "Never mind that, just come in. We're running late as it is."  
  
"Sorry," Harry said sheepishly, "Wood wanted me to stay after. Said he had to show me some new tactics. I don't thin they'll work against Ravenclaw though. Their defense is too strong..." His voice faded in to silence as he noticed that everyone was looking at him with raised eyebrows. He shifted his feet uncomfortably. "Sorry," he said again.  
  
"Right," said Hermione, speaking to Jessica, Ron and Amanda, but still looking at Harry in disbelief, "Well with that, I think we should go down now, you know, before it's too late."  
  
They all nodded in agreement. Harry pushed open the door, and stuck his head out. The common room was deserted, most of the students were at dinner. He nodded and held the door open as they filed out.  
  
"Wait a moment," Harry said suddenly. "Stay here, I have an idea." He ran up the stairway to the boys dormitory, leaving the four of them standing bewildered. He came flying back down about a minute later, the invisibility cloak flapping in his hand. "Here," he panted, skidding to a halt in front of Amanda, "Just so that we don't run in to trouble on the way." He grinned at her, but she looked a little wary.  
  
"Trouble?" she asked uncertainly.  
  
"Oh nothing big," Harry said quickly. "You know, just incase we see someone. So that we don't have to answer questions or anything."  
  
Amanda still looked a little suspicious, but she took the cloak from Harry and placed it over her shoulders. In an instant, everything but her head had vanished. They all nodded, urging her to continue. She nodded bravely and pulled up the hood, rendering her completely invisible.  
  
"Right. Ok can you hear me Amanda?" Hermione said softly. Jessica had to smile. Hermione was speaking to Amanda as though she were a small child that was scared of something utterly ridiculous.  
  
There was a pause. Finally Amanda answered in an impatient voice, "Of course I hear you Hermione." Jessica grinned even broader. They may have been in different surroundings, but it was the same old Amanda.  
  
They made their way slowly down the corridors, trying not to look too guilty. But despite their efforts, they all jumped about a foot at every small noise. Harry was leading the way as he was the only one who knew where Dumbledore's office was. He stopped dead in the middle of a corridor and scratched his head, looking from left to right.  
  
"I know it's around here somewhere," he said more to himself than the others.  
  
Hermione looked shocked. "Harry! You said you'd been there before!"  
  
Harry turned to face her. His voice dripped with impatience. "And I have been, but the last time I was I was in absolutely no shape to recall anything." He turned away again. "Now let's see," he said, thinking aloud, "It should be right down here....Aha!"  
  
He turned around a corner. "Here it is!" he called. He stuck his head back around and beckoned to them all. Everyone looked at Ron, who merely shrugged.  
  
They started off after him. When they first turned the corner, there was just an empty corridor. Following it to the end, they came upon a larger corridor that, at first, appeared to be empty. Then, they saw Harry standing along one wall in front of a large stone gargoyle.  
  
"Harry, you git!" Even Ron couldn't help himself anymore. "You were supposed to take us to Dumbledore's office!!!"  
  
"I know that!" Harry said acidly. "This is the entrance, I just can't seem to remember the password..."  
  
"Oh well that's great," Jessica sighed as she slumped against a wall and slid silently to the floor. Hermione sat down beside with her chin in her hands, and her elbows on her knees.  
  
"Maybe we could just wait for a teacher?" she suggested half-heartedly.  
  
"Well it would look a little suspicious wouldn't it?" Ron said, as he too sat down. "I mean, they'd be sure to ask what we want with Dumbledore..."  
  
"Are you still there, Amanda?" Jessica asked.  
  
"Yeah, I am," Amanda replied quietly. "But I'd like to get out of this cloak sometime soon."  
  
"Wait," Jessica said suddenly, sitting up straight. "Harry. Aren't all the passwords usual some kind of candy?"  
  
Harry thought for a moment. "Hey, you're right! But...how did you know that?"  
  
Jessica turned red. Once again, she had proven that she knew what she shouldn't about Harry's world.  
  
"Oh, just a...um, lucky guess," she said quickly, eager to cover her mistake.  
  
Harry looked at her suspiciously. She felt her throat close, she could tell he didn't believe her. Her heart was pounding in her rib cage. She noticed that the three of them were now looking at her very skeptically. She swallowed hard and thought for a minute.  
  
"Ok, well, everyone start thinking of different kinds of candy," she said in an unnaturally high voice.  
  
"Well there's Fizzing whizbees," Ron said slowly. Jessica had to work hard to hide her relief.  
  
They watched the statue, but it made no move.  
  
"Well that's not it," Hermione said. "What about Drooble's Best Blowing Gum?"  
  
Still, the statue made no move.  
  
Amanda slid the cloak off her head slowly. They all gaped at her.  
  
"I know," she said, "I'm not supposed to take it off. But it's really hot under this thing!"  
  
"Oh I know!" Harry said excitedly, "I remember this one time..." He noticed that once again, they were all looking at him oddly. "Sorry."  
  
Jessica rubbed her forehead, trying to think of what the book said the last password was. Then it hit her, it was cockroach clusters. But Dumbledore was sure to have changed it since everything happened. What was another immensely gross form of wizard candy....  
  
"Acid pops!" she said suddenly, her head snapping up. Instantly, the gargoyle came to life and sprang aside. Everyone was staring at her, looking impressed.  
  
"And when have you ever tasted an acid pop?" Ron asked her. She started stammering for an explanation, then she noticed that he was laughing. She laughed too, feeling somewhat foolish. They all stood, and Harry with a mock bow, pointed to the spiral staircase and said, "Professor Dumbledore's office, first floor." They all laughed and followed him in, as the wall closed and the gargoyle returned to its guarding place. 


	20. ~in Dumbledore's office~

A moving staircase was taking them slowly upward. The stair itself was so magnificent, Jessica couldn't see how Dumbledore's office could be even better. She was enjoying the ride so much, that at first she didn't notice when they stopped. Harry led them over to a large oak door, and as Jessica inspected it closer, she assumed that behind this was Dumbledore's office. Harry raised his hand, grabbed the huge brass knockers, and knocked hard. A harsh voice answered.  
  
"Yes, yes, come in."  
  
Harry was a little startled, but he slowly pulled open the door and walked in, the others following behind him.  
  
The office was absolutely amazing in every aspect. However, Jessica did not have time to observe it for very long, because something that seemed very misplaced caught her attention at once. At the huge oak desk, in the chair that she could only assume was Dumbledore's, was a most unwelcome and unpleasant surprise. Professor Snape lifted his greasy head which had been bent over some papers on the desk as they entered the room. He narrowed his glare as he surveyed them all. Jessica felt her breath catch in her throat. This was quite possibly the worst case scenario. They hadn't even considered this as a possibility.  
  
Harry, who had apparently over the years become accustomed to being insolent with Snape, said, "Where's Professor Dumbledore?"  
  
Snape continued to glare at them for another full minute before he lowered his head back to the desk and began shuffling papers.  
  
"I should like to know that myself." Suddenly, his head snapped back up. "What is it that you want with the Headmaster?" he asked slowly...dangerously.  
  
Ron stood his ground. "We just need to see the headmaster."  
  
Snape stood slowly and advanced on them. On the path he was walking, he was going to run right in to Amanda in the invisibility cloak. Jessica felt her shift nervously to the left, next to her.  
  
"I asked you," Snape said in a deadly quiet voice, "What you are doing here. Now answer me or you will all be facing extreme punishments."  
  
Hermione threw a sidelong glance at all of them, warning them not to speak. Here eyes lingered on Jessica for a moment, who's hand went quickly to her throat to make sure her scar was well covered.  
  
"Well," Hermione began slowly, obviously doing some fast thinking, "Well, we we're just wondering if we could get our results from our exams last week back early. That's all."  
  
Snape's mouth curled in to a sneer. "Do you really think I'm that stupid, Miss Granger? I know you, Potter, Weasley, and this...this..." his voice faltered as he looked at Jessica. "Well...this stranger, are up to something."  
  
"What gives you that idea?" Jessica said a lot braver than she felt.  
  
"Listen to me, Miss Ciccone. You may be new here, and Dumbledore may believe you to be innocent, but I can see right through your little act. You're in the league with Potter. You're heads are overly inflated. I will personally see to it that I am your downfall. I am making it my mission to prove that you are up to no good. And furthermore..."  
  
"Severus."  
  
Everyone jumped, and Snape spun around. A very stern looking Dumbledore was standing in the back of the office, holding a letter in his right hand.  
  
"Headmaster," Snape said silkily, "Thank goodness you're here. I've just caught Potter, Weasley, Granger, and Ciccone here trying to force their way in to your office. Demanding to see you, I'm afraid sir."  
  
Dumbledore fixed them with a penetrating stare. After a full minute, he turned back to Snape. "Thank you Severus, and what was it that you wanted with me?"  
  
Snape's face turned a nasty yellow color. "I was merely checking on our progress with our...project, sir." He gave Dumbledore a very pointed look.  
  
Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Understandable, Severus. However, I must ask you to leave me with the students now. I want a word with them. I assure you that Professor McGonagall has copies of all of the papers you came to see. Now if you'll excuse us..." He walked over to the door and held it open for Snape.  
  
Snape cast them one last look of pure venom, then swept wordlessly from the room.  
  
Dumbledore shut the door quietly behind him, then walked over to his desk and sank in to his chair with a sigh. He then turned his attention toward Harry, Ron, Hermione, Jessica, and, unknown to him, Amanda.  
  
"Please, sit," He said beckoning to four chairs in front of his desk. They sat down and cast nervous glances at eachother. Jessica prodded Harry hard on the leg to signal him to talk first. He recognized the signal and gave a small nod.  
  
Harry cleared his throat and launched in to the story. He stumbled in a few parts, trying to remember what they decided to tell him. Before he knew it, he had given Dumbledore a catalog of events, starting from the discovering of the legend, and ending with the arrival of Amanda. Leaving out, of course, some key incriminating factors, such as the ancient rune that Jessica had said out of nowhere one evening, the countless times they had been listening to private conversations, and the possibility of some ancient connection between Harry, Jessica, and Amanda. Making it sound as though they had stumbled across the legend, heard some rumors, and put two and two together.  
  
Dumbledore never spoke during Harry's speech. He merely nodded at the appropriate times, and at the mention of Amanda's arrival, he stood up very quickly.  
  
"Is this Amanda here?" he asked them.  
  
Hermione nodded, and pointed to a corner where Amanda had last been standing. The four of them turned in their seats, and Dumbledore stared at the spot intently. As they watched, Amanda slid the cloak off. When it was all the way off, Dumbledore conjured her chair and invited her to sit down. Then, he turned to Harry.  
  
"You father's old invisibility cloak, I presume?" he said with a hint of the familiar twinkle in his eyes.  
  
Harry nodded. "Yes sir, Professor Dumbledore. It was only so that we didn't run in to anyone on the way here...before we had time to explain the situation to you." He was sounding anxious, but visibly relaxed when Dumbledore gave a small smile.  
  
"And I expect it was a most unpleasant surprise to find Professor Snape in my office?" he asked kindly. Harry managed a weak smile.  
  
"Now on to more pressing matters," Dumbledore said, suddenly business-like, "What are we to do with you, Amanda?" Amanda merely continued to look at Dumbledore, amazed that he'd actually said her name. "Well," he continued slowly, "Even if I knew how, I would not send you home. I see no point in it now. However, we must do something so that we do not arouse suspicions." He sat back down and stared in to space for a long time. "I think," he said thoughtfully, "the best way to deal with this is in the same manner that we dealt with Miss Ciccone. You will stay and study magic here at Hogwarts, not that it is safer than sending you home, but I assure you that we will do everything in our power to protect the school. I warn you however," he said, suddenly very stern, "to no longer concern yourselves with that legend. It is a matter for the teachers to handle, and handle it we will. Also, I will have to ask you not to mention the information you have stumbled across to other  
students. You can imagine what a panic it would cause." He stopped to clear his throat.  
  
Hermione took advantage of this momentary silence, and spoke up quite suddenly. "Sir? Are they going to have to close the school?"  
  
Dumbledore studied her for a long moment. "Of that, Miss Granger, I am not sure. But I beg you, if any other complications arise, come and see me immediately. Don't talk to anyone else about what you discover, not even the other professors. Do you understand?" All of them nodded in turn. "Very well, then. You may all return to your dormitory. Amanda, you will be staying with the Gryffindors too. You may share Miss Ciccone's room with her. I will conjure another bed for you. The professors will be alerted of your arrival so that you may attend the classes without complications."  
  
Yeah...right, Jessica thought dryly.  
  
"Now is there anything else you have to tell me?" he said, focusing his gaze on Jessica. She felt her hand start nervously towards her throat, but was able to stop it halfway up. She dropped her eyes and stared instead at her knees.  
  
"No, sir. There's nothing else." 


	21. ~Faith~

Their footsteps echoed down the empty corridors as they slowly made their way back to Gryffindor tower. Amanda was very happy that they were not sending her home, but she was still walking quietly and casting nervous glances around her. Jessica sympathized with her. She knew what it was like, for not only was Hogwarts an impressive place, it was sometimes very frightening and intimidating. Hermione, though very relieved they were not in serious trouble, lead their way down the corridor, fretting over what they could do to continue helping without Dumbledore finding out. Ron was walking behind Hermione, with Amanda, explaining the castle and pointing out various things as they walked. Harry was behind them, just sort of dragging his feet along, not really interested in anyone or anything. Jessica would have been wondering what was wrong with him, if she hadn't been so preoccupied with her own problems. She walked slowly, bring up the rear of their little group, rubbing her  
neck and thinking hard. Should she have told Dumbledore about her scar? He did already know about Pettigrew. But still, what could he possibly do to help her?  
  
Her worries must have shown on her face, because Harry slowed his pace to catch up with her.  
  
"What's up?" he asked her, somewhat concerned.  
  
She shook her head, unable to find the words to express all of the terror and guilt she felt inside.  
  
"I see," Harry said keenly, "It's one of those kind of problems."  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
"Well, I get those problems sometimes. Those ones where you don't know how to put what your feeling in to words. Is that it?"  
  
"I guess," she said slowly. She wasn't actually sure what was bothering her either. "Harry," she said suddenly, "Do you think we should have told Dumbledore about my scar?"  
  
He thought for a minute. "I guess not, I mean, he knows about my scar, and the only thing he's been able to tell me so far is that it hurts when Voldemort is feeling evil or something. And besides, I get stared at far too much because of this scar...and you don't need that. People already think your odd." She glared at him. "What I mean is that you're unusual," he said hurriedly, "in a good way. No. It's good that you only told Me, Ron, Hermione, and Amanda." He sounded so sure of himself that she relaxed a little bit.  
  
"And what about you Harry? What's bothering you?" she asked turning to face him as they walked.  
  
"Ahhh. A group therapy session, I see?" he said knowingly and she laughed. "Well, I don't know. It's not something that's really wrong. I was just wondering what was in that letter that Dumbledore had in his hand."  
  
Jessica thought for a minute, she had almost completely forgotten about that letter. "Oh, well I don't reckon it was anything big. Why are you so worried about it?"  
  
Harry shifted his shoulders uncomfortably. "I dunno, actually. There was just something about the way Dumbledore looked..."  
  
The front of the group had already turned the corner, and as Jessica and Harry approached it, they noticed that the footsteps had stopped. They walked carefully around and found themselves face to face with a girl. She had short blonde hair, and was wearing a fake smile that didn't reach her hard cold eyes. It took Jessica a moment, but finally she realized it. This was the girl from the library. Jessica thought hard for another moment, and then remembered that her name was Faith.  
  
No one had moved, and the blonde girl just continued to stand there, beaming at them. Then, Faith's eyes fell on Harry.  
  
"Harry! How great to see you! I was just looking for you!" she exclaimed in her false cheerful voice.  
  
Harry was visibly confused. "Er, hi?" he said.  
  
"Oh, can I have a word with you? I have some very exciting news for you!"  
  
"Sure," Harry said cautiously.  
  
Faith beckoned to him to follow her, but he didn't seem to trust her that well yet.  
  
"Why don't you just tell me right here?" he said.  
  
"Oh," Faith said sounding confused. She obviously hadn't planned on him refusing her offer. "Well," she said, regaining herself, "Are you sure you want your...friends here to find out?" Her eyes lingered on Jessica for a moment, and she could see her gaze narrow. "Oh it's you!" Faith exclaimed in fake enthusiasm, "Well, if I knew you were friends with the great Harry Potter, I would have asked you to pass along this message!"  
  
Jessica stood her ground. There was something very wrong about this girl. "That's right. I'm his good friend. Now, why don't you tell us what you wanted to say?" she said, somewhat defiantly, stepping forward to stand right beside Harry.  
  
Faith's plastered smile faltered a little. "Well, alright, if you insist on telling them," she said with a pointed look at Harry. Harry merely nodded, his gaze narrowing even further. He was starting to dislike this girl more and more by the minute. "Well, what I came to tell you is that, as we all know you like Cho, I'm going to try and get her to like you, seeing as I'm her best friend in the WHOLE world. I think she already does like you, she just doesn't want to admit it."  
  
A very tense pause followed this statement. Jessica could feel the heat coming off Harry. She felt bad for him, he had to be so embarrassed.  
  
Faith continued with her cold eyes locked on Harry. "However, doing this will require some work. So, I have a favor to ask of you."  
  
Jessica couldn't believe her ears. This girl had just mortally embarrassed Harry, and now she was asking for a favor?!  
  
Harry made no move.  
  
"You see," Faith continued, her eyes crueler than ever, "I've seen you talking to a certain boy quite a lot. I think his name is Draco Malfoy..."  
  
Harry tensed up beside Jessica.  
  
"We don't talk to that piece of filth!" Ron spat, angrier than Jessica had ever seen him.  
  
"Right, well, anyway," Faith continued as though there had been no interruption, "My friends and I have a bet going. There's a rumor floating around that the school is going to be hosting another Ball, after the success of last year's. Well, my friends have dared me to go with Draco. And, being that I'm in Ravenclaw, I don't have any classes with him...So I'd like you to talk to him for me. If you do," she added, her eyes glittering with malice, "I guarantee that if there is a dance, Cho will go with you."  
  
Harry started to shake. He seemed incapable of words, but Jessica had the horrible impression that somewhere in the back of his mind he was thinking over this offer.  
  
After no one spoke for a long time, Jessica stepped protectively in front of Harry, who still couldn't speak.  
  
"No deal," she hissed, "If Cho won't go with him, then it's her loss. He doesn't need someone like you to help him."  
  
Faith looked a little shocked. She was studying Jessica with intense dislike, when suddenly it hit her. "You're the girl," she sputtered. "I was there. I saw you. You showed Draco a paper or something, then he insulted you and you grabbed him by his head, and...and..."  
  
Jessica started to shake also. How had she seen? The corridor had been deserted...right?  
  
"Cho and my other friends saw it too. That's when they came up with the dare." Then before Jessica could say anything, Faith looked at Amanda, "And who are you? Oh god, don't tell me. We've got another Muggle in our school." She laughed an evil laugh, her voice dripping with bitterness.  
  
"Shut up!" Ron ordered, stepping in front of Amanda.  
  
Faith stopped laughing. She could tell that the situation was getting worse. It was now five against one. She turned to walk away, but before she was out of sight, she spun around and called out, "Harry! My offer still stands." Then she walked away and the corridor rang with her hate-filled laughter. Jessica's scar suddenly stung as though it had been light on fire.  
  
Hermione, who had been oddly silent, said in a shaky voice, "I can't believe she's in Ravenclaw. I mean, of all houses, I thought for sure she'd be in Slytherin."  
  
The stinging in Jessica's neck stopped as suddenly as it had started. She hadn't screamed. It had been more of a mental pain.  
  
Ron walked over to Harry, who was still looking livid, his face a pale red.  
  
"You all right, Harry?" Ron asked, concerned.  
  
Harry didn't answer, he merely turned to Jessica. "Did you feel that?" he whispered.  
  
Jessica nodded. "I thought I was just imagining it though..."  
  
"You weren't," Harry said urgently, "Because I felt it too."  
  
"Would someone like to tell me what's going on?" Amanda asked suddenly.  
  
Jessica jumped slightly, she had forgotten Amanda was there  
  
"Our scars..." she said quietly, "They're only supposed to hurt us when danger...is nearby..." 


	22. ~it all fits...>)~ (sorry its soo short!...

"It all fits," Hermione whispered.  
  
"What all fits?" Amanda asked uncertainly.  
  
"That's where I've heard that rune before!" Hermione exclaimed, clasping her hands together.  
  
"What are you talking about, Hermione?" Jessica asked.  
  
"The rune! The rune! Don't you see?" Hermione said in a excited voice, "The rune you said meant `beware a blonde hair stranger'! She was the stranger."  
  
"But that's not a good thing, Hermione!" Harry said, exasperated.  
  
Hermione waved her hand impatiently. "I know that, but still, atleast now we know what we're up against."  
  
"And where on Earth have you heard that phrase before?" Ron asked her incredulously.  
  
"Oh...well, I just read it in one of my books." She beamed at them.  
  
"What don't you read in one of your books?" Jessica asked, laughing.  
  
The rest of them joined in laughing, but Jessica still couldn't shake that eerie feeling Faith had given her. A blonde hair stranger...  
  
"Right, well let's go back to the Common Room before Snape comes along and tries to expel us or something," Ron said.  
  
They continued walking toward Gryffindor tower, now oddly silent. Jessica assumed that each of them was lost in their own thoughts, but Harry seemed the most troubled of all.  
  
When they reached the Common Room, Hermione, and Amanda claimed that they were tired and both went to their rooms. Jessica too was feeling sleepy, but she didn't want to go before she had her question answered.  
  
"Harry," she said quietly, "What's wrong?"  
  
Harry merely shook his head.  
  
"Please," Jessica pressed on, "please tell me what's wrong."  
  
Harry raised his head. He was looking straight at her, but she could tell his mind was somewhere else. "How did she know I like Cho? I never told anyone. Not even Ron."  
  
Jessica's stomach gave a funny jolt. He was right. In all that the book had said about Cho, it had never said that he told anyone. Jessica had known of course, but that was only because she had read the...  
  
"Oh no," Jessica breathed  
  
Harry was startled. "What the matter?"  
  
She shook her head. Her throat felt tight. How could she explain to him what she thought? He would think she was crazy. Some of the teachers hadn't even believed her story. She lowered her eyes to the carpet.  
  
"Harry, promise me that no matter what you do, you won't ever talk to that girl again."  
  
Again, Harry was shocked. "Well, I wasn't planning on it, if that's what you mean."  
  
Jessica kept her eyes down. "Please, Harry. Promise that no matter what, you'll avoid her."  
  
"Er..."  
  
"Promise me, Harry," Jessica said, raising her head. "She's like me. She knows..."  
  
"Harry, are you coming?" Ron called from halfway up the boy's staircase.  
  
Harry turned to Jessica, studying her face for a moment.  
  
"I promise."  
  
Then he turned, and started up the stairs.  
  
Jessica shook her head and started slowly off toward her room. 


	23. ~kidnapped~

She shut the door silently behind her. Amanda was sitting on the new bed, studying Jessica with a mixture of excitement and curiosity.  
  
"So this is Hogwarts is it?" Amanda said excitedly, looking around the room.  
  
Jessica managed a small smile and a nod. She wasn't angry at Amanda for ignoring the severity of this situation. She too remembered the initial thrill it had been to come to Hogwarts. Amanda had been staying in the spare bed in Hermione's dormitory, in the invisibility cloak of course. And, since she had first arrived, Jessica and she had not yet had the chance to talk alone. Jessica heaved a sigh and sat down on her own bed, shifting some covers over.  
  
Amanda looked surprised. "What's wrong?"  
  
Jessica shook her head. She'd heard that phrase so many times that night she was ready to scream.  
  
Instead of saying `nothing' like most people would have, she looked Amanda straight in the eye and told her the truth. "We have a very big problem, Amanda."  
  
Amanda shifted her comforter over. "We do?" she asked, sounding concerned, "But I thought we had all of our problems figured out...for now, atleast."  
  
Jessica shook her head. "It isn't as simple as it seems," she said, "We still haven't gotten word from the other Aurors, so we don't even know if the letters made it. Plus, the Dark Side is growing so fast, I don't know if, even when we get the Aurors, we'll be able to stop them. And to top it all off, I think there's a spy in the school. A spy who knows what we do. A spy who read the books."  
  
Amanda looked at her, somewhat shocked. "But, how do you think a spy from their world could have read a book series from ours?"  
  
Jessica looked down at her hands. "I don't know," she said finally, "But she does seem to know an awful lot about Harry. Things he's never told other people...even Ron. Things that only you and I know from reading the books, but would never bring up...Honestly, Amanda, didn't you notice something...funny about that Faith girl?"  
  
Amanda thought for a moment. "Now that you mention it," she said slowly, "She did seem...kind of familiar. But I don't know how..."  
  
Jessica leaned forward. "And," she said in a whisper, "She knew that Harry liked Cho, but Harry hasn't ever told anyone. Not even Ron. Doesn't that seem odd to you?"  
  
"Come to think of it, you're right! But wait," she said, suddenly dropping her voice to a whisper, "Do you think Harry noticed?"  
  
Jessica nodded. "He's the one that pointed it out to me."  
  
Amanda leaned back again. "Oh no," she said quietly.  
  
"And that's not all," Jessica said, quieter still, "If Harry wants to figure out how she knew about him liking Cho, we're going to have to tell him about the books."  
  
Amanda clapped her hands to her mouth, shaking her head. "But we can't! I mean, just think about what that will do to him! Imagine, having people you don't even know being able to read and see all of your personal thoughts and trials!"  
  
Jessica nodded. "I know...I know, and I don't want to have to tell him either...but we may just have to."  
  
Neither of them said anything for a long time.  
  
"Hey Jessica," Amanda said finally, "Does Ron have a girlfriend?"  
  
Jessica was startled. That was the last thing she expected Amanda to say  
  
"Oh, um," she stuttered, "Well, no, I don't think so. Why do you want to know?" Jessica said, already knowing the answer.  
  
Amanda blushed and looked down at her hands. "Oh I don't know..."  
  
Jessica laughed. "You are such a dork!" she said as she picked up a pillow and threw it at Amanda.  
  
Amanda caught it and tossed it aside. "But really," she said, back to whispering, "Do you think they'll have another Ball this year? I mean, especially with all that's going on."  
  
"I'm not sure," Jessica replied slowly, "But then again, Dumbledore has been known to pull off strange things at the last moment..." Suddenly there was a sharp knock on the bedroom door. Amanda looked at Jessica with raised eyebrows. Jessica shrugged in silent reply.  
  
They were about to start talking again when a second knock sounded...then a third.  
  
"Should I go answer that?" Amanda asked Jessica with wide eyes.  
  
"Sure, go ahead," Jessica said, flopping back on her bed.  
  
Amanda rose and approached the door. Jessica was watching her from her reclining position. Amanda turned back to Jessica when she reached the door, and Jessica nodded, encouraging her to open it.  
  
Upon opening the door, Amanda grew pale, as though someone had pulled out a plug and let all the color drain from her face.  
  
Jessica sat straight up. "What is it, Amanda? Who's there?"  
  
Amanda didn't have time to reply. She merely screamed, and the next second, she was pulled out the door and disappeared from sight.  
  
Jessica scrambled to stand up and raced to the door. The Common Room was empty. The fire flickering eerily in the corner, casting it's dying light over the furniture. Breathing hard, she cast another look over the room, then something very strange caught her eye. A note was taped to her door. Hands trembling, she reached out and took it: The Dark Side will win. The three united shall fall. One has become a prisoner. Two more await their deaths. A rain of blood shall fall upon the castle. The six summoned shall be dealt with. The Dark Lord has returned. Hope is futile.  
  
Jessica stayed conscious just long enough to hear herself scream as she fell over, her scar searing viscously. 


	24. ~the 6 Aurors~

Voices were surrounding her, some familiar, some not. A thick white fog was swirling around her. The heavy smell of pine and dirt hung in the air. She squinted her eyes up against the darkness, and lifted her head. The moon was high in the sky, the stars twinkling below it, giving a faint eerie glow to the trees around her. Jessica stood slowly and painfully, brushing dirt off her clothes. Getting a better look at her surroundings, she realized she was in a forest. She put her hand over her eyes to focus them in the dark. In the far off distance she could see a huge mass that looked strangely like the Whomping Willow.  
  
Her stomach gave a funny jolt. If she could see the Whomping Willow, she must be inside the Forbidden Forest. Everyone knew that the Forbidden Forest was riddled with all kinds of murderous beasts. Shaking slightly, she pulled her wand out of her pocket. "Lumos," she whispered. Instantly, the ground was ignited with light. Again, she heard the voices. They sounded rather near.  
  
"Who's there?" Jessica asked in a quivering voice.  
  
No answer.  
  
Jessica crept around a particularly large tree to get a look at the speakers. The sight that met her eyes was very unusual. Seven people were standing around in a large clearing. Four of them were men, and the other three were women. She managed to stifle her gasp of shock.  
  
Shifting slightly to the left to try and distinguish their faces, she accidentally trod on a twig which snapped noisily. She jumped back, her heart thudding. Any minute now they were going to come around the tree, and then she would be in big trouble. She stood there for a long time waiting for them, but no one came. Relaxing slightly she leaned forward. No one seemed to notice the sound. They were all still talking casually amongst themselves.  
  
How can this be? She wondered. And then it hit her. How many times had Harry been somewhere that no one could see or hear him? She almost started laughing she was so relieved. This obviously was a similar situation. Gathering her courage, she put out her wand and stepped out from behind the tree, starting toward the people.  
  
As if the situation couldn't have gotten any worse, the first and only face she recognized belong to the one person she never wanted to run in to in a dark enclosed space...Professor Snape. He was looking particularly wicked tonight. The starlight shining off his greasy hair and turning his face stark white. She turned to study the other people talking. They were all wearing robes that looked like they might have been in style in the 1600s. Even more puzzling was their manner of talking.  
  
Jessica could catch bits a pieces of their conversations.  
  
A frazzled looking wizard was speaking in a low, hurried voice. "Ah yes, I remember that one. Yes indeed, that Frutch nearly killed me before I could kill him. He was a right viscous one, he was. At one point in the fight, I was halfway down his throat. I managed to escape, of course, but only to find that..."  
  
"Now really, Albert," said a little blonde witch, "I seem to remember you screaming and crying like a child for several days after."  
  
"My dear Isabel," said the wizard named Albert, chuckling, "Let us not forget your famous...er, defeat of the great wizard Gretkey."  
  
"As I've said countless times," said the little witch named Isabel, "I was not feeling well that day. But what does it matter, he is dead, is he not?"  
  
"That, he is," said a different wizard. He was taller and more handsome, and seem to hold some respected position with the others.  
  
"Thank you, Dilan," said the little blonde witch.  
  
"Well if you ask me," said yet another witch, "I think they should just let us get out there and do our job. Who says we need atleast ten Auror's to kill a dark wizard? There's no guarantee that the others are even able to be contacted." She sounded irritated, but apparently the others had become used to this.  
  
"Now, now, Seria," Albert said, "I think that perhaps we should wait so we can do our job correctly, rather than quickly."  
  
"And what do you think about this, Saria?" said Dilan, "Surely you have some opinion in this matter?"  
  
At first, Jessica thought he was directing this question toward a particularly large boulder, but then she realized there was a with sitting on top of it, gazing at the moon. She had brunette hair that hung roughly below her shoulders. The moon and starlight was illuminating her pale skin, making her appear as though she was glowing. When she turned her head, the first thing Jessica saw was her bright green eyes. They stood out clearer than anything in the landscape. As Jessica watched, she sighed and slid sideways off the rock.  
  
"I don't know," she said, straightening her robes, "I guess I want to get the fighting over and done with, but I also want to see Vincent. I've missed him so terribly."  
  
"Very understandable," said Dilan.  
  
Snape cleared his throat loudly, bringing their attention back to him.  
  
"If you'll excuse me," he said in his oily voice, "It is nearly dawn. I must be getting back to the castle. Do not hesitate to send an owl if you need any assistance." He nodded slightly, then turned and swept off toward the castle.  
  
"Doddering old git," said a wizard, who had not yet spoken, "I can't believe Dumbledore thinks he needs to keep us safe. We're fully trained Aurors! We can handle whatever this forest can cough up!"  
  
"Now, Jacob," said Saria, finally making her way over to join the group, "I understand your frustration, but we are the last hope. And I suppose Dumbledore is just trying to show his appreciation for us coming."  
  
"I suppose," Jacob said, apparently even more irritated that she had rationalized his anger.  
  
Jessica had been listening raptly, and at the word Aurors she jumped. They were the six Aurors! Dumbledore had put them in the Forest, because he knew no one would venture in there without a good reason! She froze as she remembered what Ron and Hermione had told her about Saria and Vincent. Now that she thought about it, Saria did look a lot like her and Harry. Infact, she had Jessica's hair, Harry's eyes, and all three of them had pale skin. And wasn't she the one who said she missed Vincent? Her heart stopped beating and her breath caught in her throat.  
  
She walked forward slowly, her hand outstretched. But just as she reached the woman, a rush of air swept past her and the next thing she knew, she was waking up in her dormitory, the morning sun trickling in through a split in the curtains. 


	25. ~shes baaaack~

Jessica dressed hurriedly and left her room to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting around the fireplace discussing the classes they had that day. She approached them as quickly as she could without actually running. Ron was the one who saw her first.  
  
"Morning," he said cheerfully, "Where's Amanda?" he added, glancing around the room.  
  
Jessica's heart started thudding painfully hard in her chest. It hadn't been a dream?!  
  
"She, um, she…" Jessica said, stumbling for an explanation.  
  
"Hi guys," said a voice right behind Jessica.  
  
Jessica jumped and spun around. Amanda was standing right behind her wearing a big smile.  
  
"Good morning, Jess," Amanda said cheerfully, taking a seat in the chair beside Hermione.  
  
Jessica opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a funny rasping sound.  
  
"Is something wrong, Jess?" Hermione asked curiously.  
  
She shut her mouth quickly and shook her head.  
  
Ron was now telling Amanda a joke that Fred had told him, and Amanda was laughing loudly. In all the years Jessica had known her, Amanda had never laughed like that. There was something very odd about it. Infact, her laugh almost sounded like a cackle, very different from her usual giggling.  
  
Not taking her eyes off Amanda, Jessica said, "Harry? Can I talk to you for a sec?"  
  
"Sure," he said, looking at her very skeptically.  
  
Jessica walked over to his chair, seized him by the elbow, and pulled him over to her room. She cast a final nervous glance around the room, and nudged Harry through the door. She hurried in after him, and shut the door. Leaning against the door, she started to explain everything that had happened the night before, including Hermione and Ron's theory that they were related. As she spoke, she occasionally through glances over her shoulder, as though afraid they were going to come bursting though the door any second.  
  
Harry gasped when she told him about Saria and the other Aurors. "You mean…we're related?" he asked in awe.  
  
She shrugged. "It certainly seems that way. But what's even stranger is Amanda. I'm sure she disappeared last night. There was a note…I think I may still have it. She dashed to her dresser to find the jeans she had been wearing yesterday. "Yes," she said finally, "Here it is." She handed Harry the note and he began to read.  
  
"Do you have any idea who wrote this?" he asked, waving the paper around.  
  
"No," she said, "But right after she left, I ran out in to the Common Room, and it was completely empty."  
  
Harry shook his head, then looked up at Jessica. "Can I hang on to this?" he asked, and she nodded.  
  
"Plus all that, Harry, in all the years I've known Amanda, I have never heard her laugh like that." She sighed and sat down on her bed. "Do you want to know what I think?" she asked Harry, who nodded, "I don't think that's Amanda. I don't know who, or what, it is, but it isn't Amanda."  
  
Harry nodded. "She seemed a little odd to me too."  
  
"Well, I don't know how we're going to figure out…" Jessica began.  
  
A very harassed Hermione flung open the door.  
  
"If you two don't hurry up, we're going to be late for Transfiguration!" she said in an agitated voice.  
  
No one spoke much until they reached the classroom. Amanda was once again behaving oddly. She kept giggling and poking Ron, who didn't seem to be minding it. Hermione was starting to notice something was odd too, she kept throwing inquisitive glances at Jessica, who could do no more than shrug.  
  
When they finally reached the classroom, they found their normal schedule of events to be interrupted. Class usually started by taking notes, followed by an activity, followed by Neville exploding something, followed by mass chaos, followed by the entire class standing by the door, praying for the bell to ring as Professor McGonagall scolded Neville.  
  
Jessica stood, brushing bits of plant off her clothes (today Neville had blown up a cactus). She was starting off toward the door with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Amanda, when Professor McGonagall stood and called for their attention.  
  
"As you may have heard," she began, "our school is hosting yet another Ball this year. However, unlike the Yule Ball, this will be open only to Hogwarts students, past and present. Which means," she continued, eyeing them like a wrathful eagle, "there will be some older and more respected people attending this. I can only hope that you will not embarrass the school. You are to be on your best behavior, as some of your parents may be coming," her eyes lingered on Ron for a moment, "Also, Headmaster Dumbledore has decided to make this a costume event. For the Ball, you are all to wear Muggle formal wear. As this is a last minute idea, the school has notified your parents and they are sending the clothes you will wear. The Spring Ball will take place on May 7th." She stopped for a moment, and cast a long glance over the entire room. Finally, she said, "That is all. You are dismissed."  
  
Jessica couldn't believe her ears. She looked at Harry, who had turned very white. She couldn't just let this go, there had to be a reason they were having this dance. Wouldn't it be dangerous having a dance with all the Dark Activity going on around, and quite possible inside of, Hogwarts?  
  
Jessica approached Professor McGonagall's desk slowly. Just as she reached it, Professor looked up.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Jessica suddenly forgot what she was going to say. "I, um, er…"  
  
Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrow. "Yes?" she asked again.  
  
"I think what she means to say," Harry said, jogging up to the desk, "Is what's the reason they decided to have this dance?"  
  
Jessica was startled, she hadn't realized that Harry was still in the classroom.  
  
Professor McGonagall looked at him very intently for a moment, and Jessica had the distinct impression that she was sizing him up.  
  
McGonagall cleared her throat and looked down at her papers. "It is merely a moral booster," she said simply.  
  
"But, Professor," Jessica found her voice again, "Isn't it a little dangerous to have a dance? I mean, after the Dark Mark and all?"  
  
Professor McGonagall looked shocked for a moment. Then she said, "Trust me, Miss Ciccone, Professor Dumbledore has taken every necessary precaution." She glanced at her watch. "You two had better go, or you're going to be late for your next class."  
  
Jessica and Harry walked out of the classroom, their own thoughts taking the place of any conversation. 


	26. ~oh no...~

"I'm so happy! Isn't this exciting, Jessica? We get to go to the Hogwarts dance!" Amanda said to Jessica in private. All of them were sitting in the Common Room, discussing what Professor McGonagall had told them. Jessica smiled and nodded.  
  
"Well I don't know what I'm going to do," Hermione said, agitated, "If it's only open to Hogwarts students, I'm thinking about not going at all. It would be the perfect time to keep researching and working on our little project," she added to Amanda and Jessica in a low whisper.  
  
Jessica could have sworn that Amanda looked confused, but the next second it was back to her usual cheerful expression.  
  
"Oh but you have to come, Hermione," she said, giving her bambi eyes, "It just wouldn't be the same without you!"  
  
"I suppose," Hermione said.  
  
"So who're you going to ask, Ron?" Harry asked, leaning back in to his chair.  
  
Ron flushed and glanced at Amanda, who didn't seem to have noticed. For a moment, Harry couldn't distinguish between Ron's face and hair, both were such a bright red.  
  
Harry grinned at Ron, who looked down at the floor.  
  
"Alright, then who were you going to ask, Harry?" Ron retorted.  
  
Harry suddenly took on a confused expression. "I don't know yet." He looked over at Jessica, who was talking to Amanda and Hermione in quiet whispers, all three of them were extremely giggly. Harry guessed that they were talking about the boys they wanted to go with. "Jessica made me promise not to talk to Faith again, and I don't really want to. But still, going to a dance with Cho…" he trailed off in to silence for a moment. "No," he said suddenly, sounding angry, "Jessica is right. If Cho won't go with me, then I'll just find someone else. I have to admit, though," he said, shifting uncomfortably, "That Faith girl did make me feel a little strange."  
  
"Just go with Jessica then," Ron suggested nonchalantly.  
  
The funny thing was, Harry had even considered that as an option.  
  
"I just don't know," he said slowly, confusing himself with his own attitude. He noticed Ron was looking at him oddly, and said the first thing that came to mind, even though he didn't mean it. "I don't think she'd go with me," he blurted.  
  
Ron laughed. "Please! You're Harry Potter. Girls would probably die to go with you."  
  
Harry smiled and shook his head. Ron had said the same thing last year, although, it had turned out to be partly true. But he still hadn't gone with the person he really wanted to, Cho.  
  
Hermione suddenly burst out in very loud laughter. Ron and Harry stared. They had never heard Hermione laugh like that. But then again, Hermione had never really had any friends that were girls before. Harry supposed that Amanda and Jessica brought out a side of Hermione they hadn't seen before.  
  
Now, watching the three of them giggle and flip their hair, he had the sudden, inexplicable urge to do something drastic.  
  
"Harry? Harry, you ok?" Ron's voice brought him back to reality.  
  
"What? Oh…yeah. Yeah. I'm fine," Harry said, feeling rather foolish.  
  
Ron laughed. "What's the matter? Never seen a girl before?"  
  
Harry laughed too, but in the back of his mind, he was thinking that he'd never seen a girl in that way before. Before, every girl had fallen in to one of three categories, friend, enemy, or Cho. But now, it was different. There was something odd about his relationship with those three girls, particularly Jessica. It was deeper than friendship, but they were nothing like girlfriends. Harry shook his head, trying to clear his mind of all his scrambled thoughts.  
  
Hermione stood up, still grinning.  
  
"Well, we'd better go down for dinner now," she said to Jessica and Amanda. Then she turned to Harry and Ron. "Are you two coming with us or are you going to go down later?"  
  
"No, we'll go with you," Ron said as he lifted himself out of the chair, and they started their way down to the Great Hall in high spirits.  
  
"Amanda," Jessica whispered, "I have the perfect person for Hermione to go with." She said with a sly grin.  
  
"Ooooh," Amanda squealed, "Who? Who?!"  
  
"I'll tell you in a minute…"  
  
The five of them walked through the open oak doors that led in to the Great Hall. Students were sitting down to dinner, talking excitedly about the Spring Ball. Jessica pulled Amanda to the side and pointed at a tall, dark haired boy sitting at the end of the Hufflepuff table.  
  
"Justin Finch-Fletchly," Jessica said quietly. Amanda went oddly silent.  
  
"I thought he was dating that girl in Ravenclaw," Amanda said in a voice of forced calm.  
  
"What?" Jessica said, looking at her, "Oh, that Faith girl…Well she doesn't count, does she? Besides Hermione is loads prettier than her…nicer too."  
  
Amanda flushed slightly. "I happen to know her, and I think Faith is a very nice girl. And I also think she's prettier than Hermione."  
  
Jessica gaped at her. "Are you serious?…Amanda, she made fun of you. She called you a Muggle when we both know that's not true. I mean, you're a descendent of Mr. Elithab, so you must have some magic blood in you."  
  
"Well, I think she was right to call me a Muggle! I mean, you're one too!" Amanda said, going red in the face.  
  
Jessica took a step back. She opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. Instead, she nodded slowly.  
  
"You're absolutely right, Amanda," she said slowly, choosing her words carefully, "Let's go sit down, ok?"  
  
"Alright," Amanda said suspiciously.  
  
Amanda started off toward the Gryffindor table, but Jessica hung back slightly. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were already sitting down, talking and laughing. Jessica took a seat right next to Harry, and Amanda sat across the table, beside Ron.  
  
Jessica smiled and talked with the rest, but when Amanda excused herself to go to the bathroom, Jessica seized the opportunity.  
  
"That isn't Amanda," she whispered urgently to Harry.  
  
"What?" Harry asked, obviously taken aback.  
  
"I said," Jessica pressed on, "That isn't Amanda. I know Amanda, and that's not her."  
  
"You mean we were right?" Harry said unbelievingly, "I mean, about thinking she's not herself."  
  
Jessica nodded. "She's more than 'not herself'. Infact, I have reason to believe that she's Faith. She's in Amanda's body for some reason…probably going to try and get you to help her win her bet. Or maybe she's after something more…"  
  
Harry nearly upset his glass, he stood up so quickly.  
  
Ron and Hermione, who had been talking about the Ball, looked startled.  
  
"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Me and Jess have to tell you something." 


	27. ~the fight~

"Ridiculous," Hermione said faintly.  
  
Jessica shook her head frantically. "No! It's not! You have to believe me, that is not Amanda!"  
  
Hermione shook her head. Ron was still staring in to the fire, trying to hide the fact that he was disturbed by this news.  
  
"Look" Harry said impatiently, "Do you believe us, or not?"  
  
Hermione looked at Jessica, as though trying to see if they were telling the truth. Jessica just shook her head and looked down at her hands.  
  
Hermione heaved a sigh. "Alright, I believe you," she relented.  
  
"What about you, Ron?" Jessica said, turning in her chair to face him.  
  
The fire crackled eerily as Ron continued to stare in to space. Jessica looked at Harry who shrugged. They hadn't been able to get a word out of Ron since they had first entered the Common Room and told him and Hermione about Amanda.  
  
The seconds lengthened. Finally, he said in a quiet voice. "Do you mean to say that she was never Amanda?"  
  
"No, Ron," Jessica pressed on, "She was Amanda until the night I told you about, when she disappeared. Something came to our door. I don't know who or what it was, but it pulled her out of sight. When I got out of our room, the Common Room was empty, and the portrait hole was shut. But there was a note on the door…It said basically the same thing you told me I did when I went in to that trance. Then I think I passed out, and I ended up in the forest, and I saw…I saw…" Her voice faltered for a moment. Ron and Hermione were looking at her with raised eyebrows. Harry looked at her a nodded, encouraging her to tell them the rest. "I saw the six Aurors," she said quietly.  
  
"What?" Hermione said, jumping out of her chair. "You mean that Dumbledore is keeping them on the grounds?! With all the dangerous things lurking in that forest, I thought for sure he'd send them to stay at the Ministry…"  
  
"Yes, but like you said," Harry interrupted, "The forest is full of dangerous beasts. No one in their right mind would go in there…that is, except Hagrid…"  
  
"But that's not the point," Jessica said hurriedly, "I want to know who left that note for me to find! And when are we going to find out about the other Aurors we contacted?? And what are we going to do about our fake Amanda? And where on Earth is the real Amanda?!?" Everyone stared at her. She felt the color rising in her face. "What I mean to say," she continued in a forced calm sort of voice, "Is that we have to stop arguing about things that we don't have to deal with right now. We need to focus on more important things…don't you agree?"  
  
"Of course we do," Hermione said briskly, "You're right. But I think the first thing we need to address is Amanda…"  
  
"Wait a minute," Harry said suddenly, "We haven't discussed anything about our plan in front of her…have we?"  
  
"Oh no," Hermione said, looking at Jessica. "I mentioned it while we were talking about the Ball." She sounded scared, but Jessica waved her hand passively.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Hermione," she said confidently, "I'm sure it didn't mean anything to her, especially if she didn't know what the plan was…"  
  
"Uh oh," Ron said quietly, looking at the floor.  
  
"What do you mean 'uh oh'?" Harry said slowly, dreading the answer.  
  
"Well, the one night, she couldn't sleep, and I had homework to finish and we were alone in the Common Room talking," he turned a brilliant shade of magenta, "and…and…I told her all about the plan. She said she didn't understand exactly what it was we were going to do, so I went over the whole thing with her…She knows everything…everything."  
  
"Oh Ron," Hermione groaned. Jessica's head dropped in to her hand, with her elbow sitting on her knee. Harry let out a long breath and leaned way back in to his chair, bringing his hands up to cover his face.  
  
"So what are we going to do now?" Jessica said with her head still in her hand, speaking to the floor.  
  
"God, Ron! You're so thick! Why would you tell her about the plan? She was there when we came up with it, she knew what it was about!" Hermione exploded, going red in the face.  
  
"I didn't know!" Ron stammered, apparently startled by her speech. "Maybe I did it for the same reason you kissed Harry on the cheek at the end of last year!" he retaliated, also going scarlet in the face.  
  
Hermione's eyes flashed. "You swore you wouldn't tell," she hissed.  
  
"Ya well, I guess some promises don't matter anymore, do they?" he spat.  
  
For a moment they stared straight at eachother, each still red in the face. Hermione's eyes were filling with tears. She whimpered, turned on her heel, and ran up the staircase to the girl's dormitory, silent tears streaking down her face.  
  
Harry had dropped his hands to his lap, his mouth hanging open. He had seen Ron and Hermione fight before, but never like this. There had been something evasive about the way they were fighting, almost as though there was something they didn't want him and Jessica to know. Harry threw a sidelong glance at Jessica who was sitting in the exact same position as him, except for the fact that she noticed her mouth was hanging open and shut it quickly. She looked at Harry, utterly bewildered. Ron was still red in the face, he sunk back in the chair, breathing hard and shaking his head.  
  
Jessica leaned over towards Harry.  
  
"You take care of Ron," she whispered, "I'll go talk to Hermione."  
  
Harry nodded, sitting back up. Jessica stood up and smoothed her clothes. As she started toward the girl's staircase, she suddenly stopped and looked at Ron.  
  
"It's ok," she said quietly. Harry marveled at how her voice could be so business like and professional one moment, then go to quiet and sympathetic the very next. As Harry watched, Ron stared in to her light blue eyes, that were shining with tears. Harry was startled, he hadn't even thought about her eyes in so long. In all that had been happening, her gaze had lost it's twinkle…it's light. As Ron looked at her, his face faded from a red to a light pink, and finally back to it's usual color. She offered him one last smile, then started up the staircase.  
  
* * * 


	28. ~secrets revealed~

Jessica approached the door slowly. She was trying to remember something…anything about the last book. It seemed so long ago that she sat in her room late at night reading the fourth book. Important details about the books were slipping away from her, the longer she went without reading them. The one thing that stood out in her mind, however, was that Voldemort was back. Voldemort was risen again, and there was nothing that she could do to change that. But there had to be a reason someone brought her here…  
  
Sighing, she knocked on the door that had a bronze plaque saying; Fifth year girls, hanging on it.  
  
"Come in," came Hermione's muffled voice.  
  
Jessica pushed the door open slowly. "It's just me, Hermione," she said quietly. Hermione was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed. She had her one elbow resting in the palm of her other hand and was biting her index finger in a scared sort of way.  
  
Looking around, she noticed that no one else was in the room. It was pretty close to the way the book described the boy's dormitory. Circular room, beds with red hangings, except for the fact that this room had six beds, while the boy's room only had five. As Jessica shut the door, Hermione lifted her head to look at her. Her eyes were red and there were tears running down her cheeks.  
  
Jessica sat down on the end of the bed opposite of Hermione's.  
  
"Ooooh," she said as she sat down, "Who's bed is this?" Jessica knew that this was hardly the time to be discussing bedroom furniture, but she felt that anything to calm Hermione down was worth saying.  
  
"Parvati's," Hermione said in a small voice.  
  
"I think you got gypped on the bed selection," she said, bouncing up and down slightly, "This is so comfortable!"  
  
Hermione laughed and shook her head.  
  
"Well, if you say so," Jessica said smiling, "But what happened down there is a lot more important than a comfortable bed…Do you want to tell me what that was all about?" Jessica lowered her voice so that it took on the soft, concerned tone that her mother had used all the time. She felt a sudden agonized pang. Her mother. She hadn't seen her in so long…  
  
Hermione dropped her hands to her lap, shaking her head.  
  
"I think Ron likes Amanda," Hermione said in a choked voice.  
  
Jessica shrugged. "I don't know…but what makes you think that?"  
  
"When he made that comment about me kissing Harry at the end of last year…he knew…" She suddenly turned her head to stare out the window. "He knew I liked Harry at the time. I don't anymore, of course. But, last year, when Rita Skeeter made that report about him and me being a couple, it got me thinking. I told Ron about it when I was at his house for the Quidditch Cup…he swore he wouldn't mention it to Harry. So when he said it downstairs, it caught me off guard. I didn't mean to get so angry, I've just been working so hard on this and I didn't want to believe that it was all ruined."  
  
"We've all been working really hard," Jessica said, leaning forward, "And this won't ruin it. I won't let it. This is just one of those obstacles that come up at the last second. We'll deal with it. But Hermione…what was that about 'some promises not mattering any more' that Ron said?"  
  
Hermione looked confused. "I'm actually not sure what he meant by that," she said, but Jessica didn't really trust the way she was looking slightly to the left instead of straight at her, "I guess it was just something that came to the top of his mind in the heat of the fight."  
  
Jessica nodded. There was no use trying to get something out of Hermione when she didn't want to say it.  
  
"Hey, Jess," Hermione said suddenly, "I think I know what we can do about Amanda…"  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jessica sat in the empty Common Room the following night, talking and waiting for Amanda to show up.  
  
"I wonder what could be keeping her?" Harry wondered aloud. Jessica didn't have time to answer, because at that moment, Amanda came through the portrait hole.  
  
"Hi guys," she said, beaming at them all, "Sorry I took so long. I was just in the library working on our plan," she said lowering her voice so no one overheard her.  
  
Jessica smiled at her. "That's nice, Amanda. What did you find?"  
  
"Oh, just you know, some stuff," she said evasively and she took a seat next to Ron. "Hi Ron," she said smiling.  
  
Ron worked hard to hide his disgusted look. "Hi, er…Amanda."  
  
Hermione smiled at Amanda, and kicked Ron hard on the ankle when she wasn't looking.  
  
"Ow!" he said, glaring at Hermione.  
  
"What's that?" Amanda said, looking up.  
  
"Nothing, nothing," Ron said, putting on a huge, scary smile.  
  
"Well, anyway," Jessica said, before Hermione could kick Ron again, "We were just talking, and there are a couple of questions we need answered."  
  
"Ok, shoot," Amanda said, still smiling.  
  
Jessica looked down at the pile of papers in her lap. "Well, first off," she said, running her finger down the first one, "We were trying to trace your family history back to determine if you really are related to Mr. Elithab, but we need to know your mother's first name. What is it?"  
  
Jessica was sure that Amanda's smile had faltered slightly. "Oh well, you know my mother's name, Jessica!"  
  
"Right," Jessica said, snapping her fingers, "It's Joanne, isn't it?"  
  
"Sure," Amanda said, "You bet it is."  
  
Jessica smiled at her and passed the stack of papers to Harry.  
  
"Alright, Amanda", he said, looking down at the paper, "Dumbledore wanted to verify that you're really fifteen, so you should be in the fifth year…so when's your birthday?"  
  
"Well…it's…January 15th of course," she said, her smile now gone completely. Jessica took a kind of savage joy in the fact that she was starting to get visibly nervous.  
  
Harry nodded and passed the stack of papers to Hermione.  
  
"Ok," she said, not troubling to keep her voice friendly, "We were wondering if you could tell us again what you were doing when you were brought here. We need to reconsider some details before we can decide what to do next."  
  
"What's with the questions all of a sudden?" Amanda asked, sounding somewhat scared.  
  
"Can you just answer the question, Amanda?" Hermione asked, her tone icy. "We need to get on with our work."  
  
"Well, as you know," Amanda said, looking in every direction but at Hermione, "I was just reading my, er, book, and then I was here," she finished shakily.  
  
"Funny," Jessica said thoughtfully, "That sounds like exactly what happened to me."  
  
Amanda didn't say anything.  
  
Hermione passed the papers to Ron, who shuffled them.  
  
"Well," he said matter-of-factly, "According to this, you failed every single one of those questions." He lifted his head to glare at her. "So…do you want to tell us where Amanda is, Faith?"  
  
Amanda's jaw dropped.  
  
"Don't know…what you're talking about," she said, sweating.  
  
Jessica had gotten to her feet.  
  
"I think you know perfectly well what we mean," she said venomously.  
  
"And just to make sure we haven't falsely accused you," Hermione said scathingly, reaching inside her robes, "I've swiped this from Professor Snape's office."  
  
She pulled a small clear bottle out of the pocket in her robes.  
  
Amanda watched it, her eyes widening with fear.  
  
"That's right," Hermione hissed, "Veritaserum."  
  
"You see, Faith," Ron said, becoming angrier by the second, "We realized who you were yesterday. But how to catch you in the act…Then it came to us. Veritaserum. The most powerful kind this school has in store. Hermione here slipped a small amount in your pumpkin juice this morning at breakfast. Enough to have you spilling all your secrets to us," he finished quietly.  
  
Amanda shook her head, her eyes still wide.  
  
Jessica looked down at her watch. "You should be feeling the effects of it pretty soon."  
  
As soon as the words had left her mouth, Amanda began to change. Her face was becoming wider, her eyes becoming more narrow. She was shrinking a good three inches also. When it was all over, a scowling Faith stood before them, her arms folded across her chest.  
  
"So," she said quietly, "You've discovered my little secret." 


	29. ~the pivotal scene (a MUST read!)~

In an instant, all four of them had their wands pointed directly at her.  
  
"Where's Amanda?" Jessica demanded.  
  
Faith laughed a horrible, cruel laugh.  
  
"And how should I know?" she replied, glaring at Jessica. The she jerked, her eyes rolling back slightly.  
  
"What's happening?" Ron asked glancing at Hermione.  
  
"The Veritaserum must be kicking in," she replied, looking at Faith with great curiosity.  
  
"She is with my master," Faith aid quietly, her head hanging at a strange angle and her eyes closed.  
  
"Where is your master?" Harry asked, tightening his grip on his wand.  
  
"He is in the forest…keeping watch," she said, her quiet voice starting to take on a malicious edge.  
  
"Who is your master?" Jessica asked, her hand beginning to shake from anger.  
  
There was a silence, broken only by the distant wind creaking the windows. The fire was starting to die, giving a faint eerie glow to Faith's blank face.  
  
"I said," Jessica hissed, "Who is your master?"  
  
Faith's lips parted slightly, and a soft noise came from the back of her throat.  
  
"What was that?" Ron asked.  
  
Faith opened her mouth again, but at that precise moment, the portrait hole was flung open. The dying fire extinguished itself completely, Hermione dropped her wand in surprise, Faith's head jerked up off her shoulder. Jessica turned her head slowly toward the hole, burning fear rising in the back of her throat. Standing in the entrance way was a shocked Professor McGonagall, followed closely by a livid Professor Snape.  
  
"Never…in all my years at Hogwarts…," Professor McGonagall seethed, baring down on them like a ravenous beast.  
  
Hermione whimpered, bring her hands slowly up to cover her face. Ron stood, struck dumb, letting his wand dangle from his limp fingers. Jessica was shaking her head furiously, refusing to believe the sight that met her eyes. Harry, however, was staring past McGonagall and in to Snape's withering glare.  
  
"My Veritaserum," he hissed.  
  
Harry said nothing. There was no way they were going to be able to talk their way out of this one, but he still didn't want to give Snape the upper hand.  
  
"Come with me," Professor McGonagall said in a quiet, dangerous voice.  
  
There was a loud thud. Faith had collapsed to the floor, and was unconscious.  
  
It took a moment for them to regain the feeling in their limbs, but before they knew it, they were heading off down the bleak corridor. Professor McGonagall was leading the way, followed by Hermione who was looking down at the floor, her face a bright pink. Ron followed her, still pale and stunned. Jessica was walking behind Ron, not really feeling her feet hit the floor. She never would know how she got all the way to Professor McGonagall's office when she half expected her legs to give out. Harry was walking behind Jessica, one hopeless excuse chasing another around inside his head. Snape was bringing up the rear, his wand out and pointed at the stretcher floating alongside him that was carrying Faith.  
  
As they approached McGonagall's office, Jessica felt a lump rise to the top of her throat. Harry walked up beside her, ashen faced, and shook his head. It was hopeless and they both knew it. They couldn't tell them what they had been doing…Professor Dumbledore had forbade them to tell anyone…  
  
Professor McGonagall reached her office, and opened the door for them.  
  
"In," she ordered, her voice full of quiet fury.  
  
Snape was looking like his birthday had come early. Harry could hear his malicious laughter ringing in his ears, even as Snape made no sound.  
  
"Sit," McGonagall commanded, conjuring four chairs.  
  
Meekly, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jessica sat down. Jessica stared down at her hands, waiting for the blow to fall.  
  
Professor McGonagall went behind her desk and sat down, never taking her eyes off the four of them. Snape stood in the shadows, watching from behind a thick curtain of greasy hair.  
  
"You have just been caught doing something that no student in my teaching career…no…in the history of Hogwarts has ever been accused of…"  
  
"Professor, please," Hermione began. There was a definite note of panic in her voice, and she had tears rolling down her cheeks.  
  
"Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall said loudly, her eyes flashing at Hermione, "You are in enough trouble already. I advise you not to add to your punishment by interrupting me."  
  
She turned back to address all of them.  
  
"You are all looking at a very serious punishment. I do not…Potter…what is that in your hand?"  
  
Harry gulped.  
  
"Nothing, Professor," he said quickly.  
  
"I suggest that you do not lie to me," Professor McGonagall said, "Now what is in your hand?"  
  
He took a trembling hand out of his robe pocket, and slowly opened his fist. In it was the small, clear bottle that held the Veritaserum.  
  
Snape stepped out from the shadows.  
  
"Veritaserum," he hissed, "From my private stores."  
  
Professor McGonagall spun on them, her face a beet red.  
  
"As you are all in my house, the decision rests with me. As of the end of this school year, you are all expelled from Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry."  
  
* * * 


	30. ~decisions, decisions...~

Hermione dropped her head to her hands and dissolved in to tears.  
  
"No, Professor! You can't!" Ron said in a panicky voice.  
  
"Mr. Weasley," she said dangerously, "Do not presume that you can tell me what I can and can not do…"  
  
"No, professor, please! We were doing this for a good reason!" Jessica blurted.  
  
Professor McGonagall turned on her.  
  
"And what, may I ask, is that reason? Keep in mind that you are trying to defend yourself against using a very powerful potion. A potion so powerful, infact, that the Ministry itself keeps tabs on its usage. Not only that, but you stole this potion from a teacher's private supply, and administered it on…another…student. Now," she continued, "tell me what this reason is, as I was under the foolish assumption that nothing permitted that kind of behavior."  
  
Jessica suddenly forgot what she was going to say. Professor McGonagall and Snape were now both standing in front of her. McGonagall still looked furious, and Snape looked somewhat gleeful. Jessica continued to stare at them, but didn't say anything. Snape's mouth curled in to a sneer.  
  
"I told Dumbledore it was a mistake to let her stay," he said quietly, "And I would be prepared to bet that she was behind the creation of the Dark Mark, and the death of all those…"  
  
"No!" Jessica shouted, jumping to her feet.  
  
"No?" Snape said in a venomous hiss, "'No' to what, Miss Ciccone?"  
  
"I didn't create that Dark Mark! And I certainly did not kill all of those Aurors!"  
  
Snape sneer turned in to a wide, malicious smile.  
  
"Then how did you know about the Aurors? I don't recall anyone mentioning it to the students," he said softly.  
  
Jessica felt the color drain from her face. She continued to glare at Snape, explanations running through her mind.  
  
"She's not lying," Harry said quietly, standing up beside her.  
  
She turned to stare at him, her eyes wide. What was he doing?!  
  
"Excuse me, Potter?" Professor McGonagall said incredulously.  
  
"I said," Harry repeated, a little bit more confidently, "She's isn't lying. We were with her when everyone was attacked."  
  
"And how do you know that she did not have someone carry out the task for her?" Snape sneered.  
  
"Come off it," Harry said quietly, "You and I both know she wasn't behind it. We know about the Aurors because we overheard the teachers' conversation right after happened…we've known for ages."  
  
"Well, let's just go and see what Professor Dumbledore thinks about that. I don't imagine he'd be too pleased if he realized you had been listening in on private conversations…"  
  
Jessica waited with bated breath. She glanced at Harry who was still staring defiantly at Snape. The only sounds to be heard apart from the wind outside, were Hermione's dry sobs. Ron was still sitting down, staring back and forth between Harry and Jessica. Finally, Ron stood up.  
  
"Dumbledore already knows," he said softly.  
  
"And he has not mentioned it to the professors?" Professor McGonagall asked sharply.  
  
Ron shook his head.  
  
"No, he hasn't. We weren't even supposed to tell anyone, but seeing as how you're trying to expel us…" Hermione gave a loud sob.  
  
"Not trying to, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall said, "Did."  
  
"Sorry, Professor," Ron mumbled, going red in the face.  
  
Professor McGonagall considered them for a long time as Snape leered unpleasantly in the background.  
  
"Very well," she concluded, "I will speak to Professor Dumbledore. As of right now, your punishment is pending."  
  
Snape looked heartbroken. "You can't revoke a punishment!" he spat bitterly.  
  
"They are in my house, Severus. The decision rests with me," she replied coolly. The she turned back to Jessica, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "All of you are to return to Gryffindor common room while I escort Miss Dirled here up to the hospital wing."  
  
It took a minute for Jessica to figure out who Professor McGonagall was talking about.  
  
"That must be Faith's last name," Ron whispered. Jessica nodded. She had been thinking the same thing.  
  
"You are dismissed," Professor McGonagall's voice pulled Jessica's wandering mind back to reality. Dirled? How would one spell that…  
  
(A/N short! I know! Forgive me! It's my muses fault! She ditched me and I had to hunt her down again! Well, anyhoo, one of my GREAT reviewers (grins) told me that Dumbledore can see through invisibility cloaks! Can he?! I don't know, because in Sorcerer's stone, he sees Harry, but I don't know if that means if he can see thru cloaks or did he just harry enter the room…?!? If anyone knows the answer, review me and tell me!!! 


	31. ~bwa-ha-ha (for lack of a better title)~

"I can't believe it," Hermione whispered, more to herself than the others. "I can't believe I'm actually expelled."  
  
"It'll be okay," Jessica said confidently, "Dumbledore will back up our story. I'm sure of it."  
  
Their footsteps echoed in the empty corridors as they made their way back to the Common Room.  
  
Harry was walking quietly beside Ron, massaging his forehead with his knuckles.  
  
"What's up?" Jessica asked, glancing at him.  
  
"I just don't get it," Harry replied, "I mean, how did that Faith girl even get in to the Common Room? And more importantly, who is her master?"  
  
Ron cursed softly. "If only Snape and McGonagall hadn't burst in on us, we could have found out!" he said in frustration.  
  
Jessica shook her head sadly. "Well never had another opportunity like that, that's for sure," she said.  
  
Hermione whipped her head around.  
  
"Are you honestly saying that that's the only thing your upset about?!" she cried in an unnaturally high voice.  
  
"Well, yes," Jessica replied slowly.  
  
"What about getting expelled?!" she fumed, stomping her foot, and making them all stop dead in the corridor.  
  
"What are you saying, Hermione?" Harry asked quietly.  
  
"I'm saying," she hissed, "That, quite frankly, I'm ready to wash my hands of this entire situation! It's just not worth it!"  
  
Harry and Jessica's jaws dropped instantly. Ron, however, took a step toward her, looking concerned.  
  
"Come on, Hermione," he said softly, "You don't mean that…"  
  
"Like hell I don't!" she exploded. Harry felt his jaw drop lower. Never, in all the years he had known her, never had he seen her that angry.  
  
"Hermione," Jessica said slowly, stepping forward, "Listen to the voice of reason here…"  
  
"No, you listen," she replied, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper, "All my life, I've been picked on. This school was the one place I had some respect! This school," she yelled, looking around the corridor, "Is the only place where I've ever had friends!" Her voice was still ringing through the corridors.  
  
After a long moment of silence, Harry stepped forward.  
  
"Hermione…" he began soothingly.  
  
"No!" she yelled, turning and running back down the corridor.  
  
Harry took a step forward to go after her, but Jessica stuck out her arm.  
  
"Wait," she whispered suddenly.  
  
"What?" Harry asked startled. Jessica's blue eyes widened to twice their normal size. She grabbed Harry and Ron by their arms.  
  
"Come on!" she hissed, "Hurry up!"  
  
She drug them in to a shadowy corridor.  
  
"What are…" Ron began, but Jessica put her hand over his mouth.  
  
"Shhhhh!" she whispered, pointing her free hand back toward the main corridor.  
  
Ron, her hand still clamped to his mouth, turned his head to look. Two hooded figures were walking swiftly down the hall, talking in low mutters. They stopped in front of a door just past the corridor where they were hiding. Straining their ears, Harry, Ron, and Jessica caught snatches of what was being said.  
  
"My lord, it's happened! They've been expelled!"  
  
"It is not good enough. They are not fully expelled yet. If McGonagall hears what Dumbledore says, they'll be allowed to stay, and we can't have that now can we?"  
  
"No, sir. No, no, not at all."  
  
"But what are we to do, Severus, what are we to do?" This voice was full of malice, but somehow took on a slight softness. Almost as though it belonged to a woman.  
  
Jessica heart stopped and her breath caught in her throat. Severus? Apparently Harry had caught that too. She felt him tense up beside her.  
  
There was a long pause. For a moment, Jessica thought they had left, but finally, the man's voice spoke again.  
  
"What of the girl we already have? What are we going to do with her?"  
  
There was another long moment of silence.  
  
"We will release her," said the woman's voice.  
  
"My lord!" gasped the man, "Isn't that a threat to our entire mission?"  
  
"Perhaps it is, Severus, perhaps it is. I, however, am in a rather generous mood today. We will let her go. Afterall," she continued after a brief pause, "Now we have a replacement."  
  
They laughed an awful cruel laugh, which made Jessica's scar tingle in an unpleasant fashion. Harry, Ron and Jessica didn't move until they could no longer hear their cackling. Their last words were still ringing in Jessica's ears, as though they had shouted them at the top of their lungs. 'Now we have a replacement…'Her breath was coming in short, sharp gasps, as they had practically been holding their air in the entire time. Realizing she still had her hand stuck over Ron's mouth, she blushed and lowered it.  
  
"Sorry," she mumbled.  
  
There was another long silence, until finally Harry voiced what they were all thinking.  
  
"That can't have been…right?" he asked in a hopeless sort of voice.  
  
"I don't know Harry," Ron said, shifting uncomfortably, "That voice sure sounded familiar…"  
  
"Don't be thick! You both know who that was," Jessica said in to the darkness, "It was Snape."  
  
  
  
"I think we should tell Dumbledore…"  
  
"No, we should tell McGonagall…"  
  
"McGonagall would never believe us!"  
  
"But we can't get to Dumbledore now…"  
  
"Will you shut up!" Jessica snapped.  
  
Harry and Ron stopped dead in the middle of their argument.  
  
"Touchy, touchy," Ron said quietly to Harry.  
  
"If we are gong to do anything at all tonight," she continued, her eyes flashing, "It should be going to bed. I think you two have forgotten that we have lessons tomorrow. It will look extremely suspicious if we fall asleep in potions…"  
  
"Not like we never do," Harry whispered to Ron.  
  
"The point is, we told McGonagall when we told Dumbledore we wouldn't! We have to make it up to him by not telling anyone else! We have to act as normally as possible, and getting to bed on time is the first step."  
  
Harry didn't feel brave enough to point out that it was already after hours.  
  
"Now let's go," Jessica commanded, leading them off down the corridor.  
  
Ron snorted. "You sound like Hermione."  
  
Jessica stopped dead, causing Harry and Ron to crash in to her.  
  
"Why did we stop?" Harry asked.  
  
"Hermione," Jessica whispered more to herself than the others. "What happened to Hermione?"  
  
Harry's stomach flopped. Hearing Snape in the hallway had driven Hermione's tirade clean from his mind.  
  
"I reckon she just went up to bed," Ron said, shrugging. He was trying to pass his comment off as casual, but there was a definite note of unease in his voice.  
  
"Right," Jessica said, trying desperately to convince herself, "Right, of course. I'm sure that's what happened…I mean," she said hurriedly, "That's where she must be." And with that, she led them down a different corridor.  
  
  
  
  
  
(A/N I finally caught my freakin muse! She's a slippery little bugger lemme tell ya! But I got her, and I wrote this and im working on my next chapter…harr….hey review me puh-leeeez *bambi eyes* 


	32. ~the *real* amanda~

She could hear Ron and Harry's footsteps behind her, punctuated by an occasional not-so-quiet whisper. From what she could hear, they seemed to be talking about the Spring Ball again. How could they think of a dance at a time like this??  
  
She shook her head and massaged her scar. She shouldn't have lost it like that, and she knew it. She knew that Harry and Ron were worried about Hermione, but they certainly weren't showing it. It was different for them, though. They knew other people at this school. Jessica had lost the one person who she really knew…Amanda. Yet, there was something inside Jessica that said Amanda wasn't gone for good. She'd get her back. She had to.  
  
"Just go with Ginny!" Ron exploded somewhere behind her.  
  
She whipped around. Harry and Ron were standing a foot apart, yelling at eachother.  
  
"Ya! I'll go with her…When you go with Millicent Bulstrode!" Harry screamed back.  
  
"You stupid…!" Ron dove at Harry.  
  
Jessica felt a lump rise in her throat. If someone heard them arguing…Before she knew it, she was racing back down the corridor and pulling them apart.  
  
"What are you two doing?!" she hissed.  
  
"He started it!" Harry said, straightening his glasses.  
  
"I did not!" Ron said through a brand-new nosebleed.  
  
"Oh that's really mature, you guys!" Jessica snapped, taking a handkerchief out of her pocket and handing it to Ron, "What if someone would have heard you?!"  
  
Harry and Ron just continued to glare at eachother. Jessica cast a quick glance around.  
  
"I think we're safe," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper, "But don't pull something like that again! Wait till we're back in the Common Room to settle your stupid arguments!" She turned back around, fuming. Deciding it would be best not to leave them alone again, she hung back and walked along beside them.  
  
After a few minutes of silence, Harry and Ron began to talk in civil tones again. Jessica let out the breath she had been holding. She had overdone it again. Learning how to control her temper was going to be harder than she'd thought.  
  
Getting to the Common Room seemed to take forever. Harry and Ron were still fighting about something.  
  
"I really don't think that's a good idea…"  
  
"Oh, what do you know?!"  
  
"I know that that's a bad idea!"  
  
"Alright, guys," Jessica sighed, "I'm going to bed."  
  
"Oh do you?!"  
  
"Yes I do!"  
  
"Good night!" Jessica said loudly, leaning toward Harry.  
  
"Well, you want to hear what I know? I know you're a stupid, lazy…"  
  
"GOOD NIGHT!" Jessica screamed. Harry and Ron stopped dead again, looking at her with a mixture of shock and fear.  
  
"Sorry," Ron said meekly.  
  
"Right…sorry," Harry said, looking down at the floor.  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
"Well…'night!" they called, starting up the stairs. Which left her standing alone in front of the fire, breathing hard and flexing and unflexing her hands into fists.  
  
"Those two are such morons," she grumbled to herself, slamming her door shut behind her.  
  
  
  
The Common Room was dark and deserted. She moved slowly and silently, feeling her way around. More than once, she stumbled on a stray piece of furniture. The dying embers in the fireplace cast a very small amount of light over a portion of the objects in her way. When she had gone about twelve paces, she suddenly felt her foot come down on something large and soft. There was a loud hiss and something huge and ginger flew past her legs.  
  
She smacked her forehead. "Sorry, Crookshanks!" she whispered as the cat crawled resentfully in to the opposite corner.  
  
Feeling like she was blind, she stuck her arms out, groping for something to hold on to. After a full minute, her fingers connected with the hard, cold doorknob. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open slowly.  
  
  
  
Jessica lay restless in bed, turning agitatedly every few seconds. She had not been able to fall asleep all night, although she did not know why. Sighing, she sat up and fluffed her pillow. Jessica suddenly grew very depressed, realizing that if she was home, she could merely read a book and fall asleep immediately. But no, she thought wryly, that just wasn't enough…I have to actually live the books.  
  
She flopped back down and forced herself to close her eyes. After a few minutes, the familiar pictures began to play in her mind's eye.  
  
She was standing in her bedroom, staring at her bookshelf. Suddenly the phone rang, but as she turned to answer it, every light went out. Frightened, she turned back to the bookshelf, but now, it was empty except for one book. One book, that was giving off a bright red glow. The ringing was still there, but was growing steadily louder. She stuck her fingers in her ears, trying to get rid of the noise that was ringing in her eardrums. Before she realized what she was doing, she had stuck out her hand and grabbed the book. It suddenly began to glow green. The phone's incessant ringing suddenly started to fade. The book was expanding. She tried to pull her hand away, but she couldn't. Jessica began to sob hysterically, turning around, straining her ears for the ever fading sound of the ringing.  
  
"Wait!" she called between sobs, "Wait, please! Don't take me! I want to stay here! It's not fair!"  
  
Jessica's eyes snapped open. A cold sweat was covering her face. Breathing hard, she sat up. After taking a few seconds to regain herself, she reached up and found that it was not a cold sweat on her face, it was tears. She had been crying in her sleep again. She leaned forward, placing her head in her hands, and began to rock back and forth slowly. What was she going to do? She had been having that nightmare for quite some time now. Perhaps there was a message in it that she was not understanding.  
  
A soft creaking over by the door caught her attention. She lifted her head. Peering through the darkness, she saw that her door was open a crack. Pushing her covers aside, she stood up and walked over to it. Jessica paused for a moment, considering all of the things that had gone wrong whenever she opened that door. She figured it couldn't really get any worse, so, shrugging, she pulled open the door. Standing in the doorway, with her hand upon the knob, was the last person Jessica ever expected to see.  
  
"Amanda!" she cried, running forward to hug her.  
  
"Jess!" Amanda said, crying.  
  
"Where have you been? What happened? Oh my goodness, so much has happened since you've been gone!" Jessica said very quickly.  
  
"Jess, Jess," Amanda said, sounding a little alarmed, "I'll explain everything. Can we go inside, though?"  
  
"Right…of course…come in," Jessica said, standing back, and pulling Amanda inside. Before she shut the door, she cast a quick glance around the room to see if anyone had saw. Much to her relief, there wasn't anyone even in the room.  
  
"Thanks," Amanda said, walking over to her bed. With a deep sigh, she sat down and looked around. "I missed this place so much. Where I was…well…I don't even want to think about it," she said, shuddering.  
  
"Amanda," Jessica said gently, sitting down on her own bed, "What happened?"  
  
Amanda played with a fray on the end of her blanket.  
  
"I saw them," she said quietly.  
  
"Who?" Jessica prodded.  
  
"The Aurors…"  
  
"I did too," Jessica said quickly, "But why didn't I see you?"  
  
"You saw them too?" Amanda asked, somewhat alarmed, "And it didn't bother you at all?"  
  
"Well, I guess it worried it me that Dumbledore was keeping them on the grounds…" Jessica began slowly.  
  
"What?" Amanda asked, shocked, "On the grounds? If I were on the grounds I would have known how to get away! I was on the grounds?"  
  
"Well, sure. Didn't you see the castle in the background?" Jessica asked slowly.  
  
Amanda shook her head.  
  
"Wait a minute," she said softly, "Which Aurors are you talking about, Jess?"  
  
Jessica was bewildered.  
  
"The six Aurors that they contacted…" she said.  
  
Amanda shook her head again, looking down at her knees.  
  
Jessica felt her stomach turn as the realization of what Amanda was saying dawned upon her.  
  
"You don't mean the…?"  
  
"Yes," Amanda interrupted, "The ones that were killed."  
  
"Oh, god," Jessica said, lowering her head to her hands.  
  
"It's worse than you think," Amanda continued, studying Jessica's reaction carefully, "I've spent the last few weeks in a graveyard, under the watch of these…things…that wouldn't take off their hoods…Meaning that," she continued, seeing that Jessica didn't get the point, "I don't know who kidnapped me…But I do know why." 


	33. ~the real story~

"But I have to ask you before I continue, not to interrupt me. I only want to relive this once," Amanda said, lifting her head to look at Jessica, who nodded mutely, unsure of her own voice. Amanda took a deep breath, looked back down at her hands, and continued with her story.  
  
"One of the people in the hoods knows about our plan. I think it was a man, but I'm not sure. Well, anyway, he somehow found out about it. He reported it to the leader of the hooded group, and the leader, who sounded like a woman, said to intercept them. So, the man came to the Gryffindor Common Room to wait for the Aurors to show up. He must have performed some invisibility spell so that people couldn't see him. Well, I'd suspected that something was wrong, and he noticed. So, that one night a few weeks ago, he came to our door. It was initially you he was after. He was going to kill you, then come after me…but I suppose this just cut his workload in half. He kidnapped me and performed that invisibility spell. I'm guessing he knew some kind of secret passage, because the next thing I knew, we were on top of one of the Astronomy towers. He put me on his broomstick and took off. We flew for nearly five hours, when, finally, we reached this awful…vile place. There were bodies all over the ground. I'll never forget it. And there, I was forced to do random odd jobs. Collecting potion ingredients and such. Until finally, about a week ago, I found out. This group had intercepted the four Aurors you tried to contact, and…and…oh, Jessica, they killed them! They're dead! Then, the night before they released me, I overheard two of them having a conversation. They were saying that the only reason they had taken me was because I was a descendent! If you, Harry, and I were to combine our powers, we might have been able to replace the Aurors they killed! I'm sure they wouldn't want me knowing this, so I ran away before they noticed I was within earshot. But, Jessica, there's another bad aspect of this story. When they were taking me away, I saw something," she seemed to be struggling to get the words out now, "They were bringing in another person. A girl…"  
  
Jessica's stomach clenched. "Did you get a good look at her face?' she asked in little more than a whisper.  
  
Amanda shook her head. "No, but they all seemed strangely excited about it. As though the key to their plan was in the capturing of that girl…"  
  
Jessica felt her throat close. She looked down at her hands, a hot surge of tears burning the back of her eyes.  
  
Amanda didn't notice this.  
  
"We're going to have to tell Harry and Ron," she sighed, leaning back.  
  
"Yeah," Jessica managed to say.  
  
"So, what's happened here since I've been gone?" Amanda asked her, sitting back up, "Anything good?"  
  
"Dance," Jessica squeaked. "I mean," she said, clearing her throat, "There's going to be another Ball…A Spring Ball. We have to go dressed in muggle, I mean our, dresses and such. It's on May 7th…you need a date."  
  
"Really? So the are going to have one? That's odd…," Amanda sighed, "Do I have to get a date though?"  
  
Jessica nodded. "But don't worry. I think Ron wants to go with you."  
  
Amanda flushed slightly. "Really?"  
  
"Ya, you were there, you heard him," Jessica said cautiously before she realized what she'd said.  
  
"What?" Amanda asked shocked.  
  
"Sorry," Jessica mumbled, "It's just that…" she paused for a moment, trying to think of how she was going to say this. "Well," she said, looking at Amanda inquisitively, "Do you remember that Faith girl we saw then night you disappeared?"  
  
Amanda thought for a moment. "Oh…her," she said as though the very word put a bitter taste in her mouth.  
  
"Yes…her," Jessica said, choosing her words carefully. "Well, you see, the day after they took you, I was in the Common Room talking to Ron and…well…you came back."  
  
"I did not!" Amanda said bewildered.  
  
"Yes you did…but it wasn't really you. It was Faith. She must have taken something from you, because she made herself Polyjuice Potion so that she looked like you. Harry and I noticed something was wrong right away," she added hurriedly, "But there wasn't much we could do. Until finally, we told Hermione and Ron about our suspicions. So, Hermione swiped some Veritaserum, and it changed her back to Faith. We were just about to find out where you were, when McGonagall and Snape burst in on us. So now," she finished, sighing, "Me, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are on impending expulsion."  
  
Amanda sat staring at Jessica with her mouth hanging open.  
  
"How could she have made that potion, though?" she asked.  
  
Jessica shrugged. "She's in a higher year, all she had to do was ask a teacher…"  
  
"No, not that," Amanda said, waving her hand impatiently, "I mean, how did she get enough from me to keep the potion going for that long?"  
  
Jessica was startled. "I don't know," she admitted.  
  
Amanda sighed, leaning her head to one side. "Well, I think we should just get back to bed. I don't see how we can concentrate when we're so tired. We'll tell the others about it tomorrow, ok?"  
  
Jessica nodded, turning around and putting out the candle. She laid back down and stared at the ceiling. She wasn't tired at all, quite the opposite, her mind was buzzing with hundreds of unanswered questions.  
  
  
  
The next morning, Jessica woke early. After getting dressed, she glanced out the window. The sun had only begun to rise, which led her to believe that it was still relatively early. She thought for a moment about waking Amanda, but, recalling the previous night's conversation, decided to let her sleep. The morning chill was still in the air, so she slipped a sweater over her shirt before walking out in to the Common Room. Much to her surprise, the room was not empty.  
  
"What are we going to do? What are we going to do?" A girl's extremely anxious voice floated past Jessica's ears.  
  
What on Earth…she wondered. Pushing a piece of hair out of her eyes, she advanced in the direction of the voices slowly.  
  
"Well, we don't know for sure what happened to her," said a different girl's voice.  
  
"How can you say that?!" cried yet another girl's voice, "It's perfectly apparent what happened! She must have run off with that Potter!"  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
"We don't know that for sure," said the second girl a little more firmly, "And I don't think we should jump to any conclusions…We'll just say that she wasn't feeling well, and stayed in bed instead of going to lessons."  
  
"But what if they ask about her not going to the hospital wing?"  
  
There was another long pause.  
  
"We'll tell them that she was too sick, and we're going to get Madame Pomfrey after lessons and bring her to our room."  
  
Jessica took another step forward. Three girls were sitting in a close circle, talking quickly and nervously. She felt her stomach drop as she realized that the girls speaking were Parvati, and Lavender. She didn't recognize the third girl, but there was no doubt in her mind…these were Hermione's dorm mates.  
  
"Excuse me," Jessica said, doing some quick thinking.  
  
All three of them looked up, and turned stark white.  
  
"Hello," Lavender said in a forced cheerful voice.  
  
Jessica decided to skip the formalities. "Who were you talking about?" she asked softly.  
  
Lavender looked quickly at Parvati, who's eyes widened to twice their normal size.  
  
There was a long moment of silence, each seemed to be thinking hard.  
  
The third girl sighed. "We might as well tell you…it was Hermione."  
  
Jessica felt as though someone had knocked the air out of her. She was suddenly light-headed, and felt as though she was going to be sick. She walked weakly over to a chair and sat down slowly, trying to compose herself.  
  
"She was missing from the dorm last night, but we didn't really think anything of it…until she still wasn't there this morning," Lavender was saying, but Jessica wasn't listening.  
  
"We think she's with Harry," Parvati finished. Jessica nodded, but the sick feeling in her stomach was still there. Hermione wasn't with Harry, and she knew it.  
  
Jessica stood up and managed a weak smile.  
  
"Excuse me," she said in an oddly constrained voice, "But maybe you'd like me to go and see for sure. I mean, if you girls want to be sure and all."  
  
"I guess so," the girl she didn't recognize said, "Go ahead, we'll probably be down at breakfast when you get back. Just don't tell anyone about it, alright?"  
  
Jessica nodded again and started toward the boy's dormitory staircase. 


	34. ~in to the forest we go~

"Someone took Hermione then?" Harry asked, wide eyed. Jessica nodded sadly. Amanda put her hands over her face.  
  
"That's the girl I saw them bringing in," she said in to her hands. Her words were discernible only by Jessica, who had heard the story the previous night.  
  
"What?" Ron asked, pulling her hands down.  
  
Amanda stared down at her knees, repeating the entire story.  
  
"—and I saw them bringing in a girl…it must have been Hermione," she finished.  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
"We've got to do something," Harry said fiercely, "We need help."  
  
"But who's going to help us?" Jessica asked, "The teachers are too busy worrying about saving the school, and all of the students are too preoccupied with finding dates…"  
  
They all groaned simultaneously, realizing that they still had to find dates.  
  
"Well, on a lighter note," Ron said, "Mum sent me my suit. And she sent you one too, Harry," he added looking at Harry  
  
"Really?" Amanda asked, sounding genuinely interested, "What's it like?"  
  
"Well, its sort of…er…" he said, trying to find the words, "Well, here, I'll show you."  
  
He raced up the stairs to his dormitory and returned a minute later, clutching what looked like a black dish rag.  
  
"What is that?" Jessica asked incredulously  
  
"It's my suit," he replied, opening it up to show them, "My dad wore it to a costume party a few years ago. I think he went as something called a 'businessman'."  
  
Harry smiled, but was secretly nervous. If this was Ron's suit, he couldn't wait to see what his would look like.  
  
Jessica almost wrinkled her nose, but caught herself just in time. The suit was a faded black, starting to fray in several places, and had clearly seen its share of wear and tear.  
  
"It's...er…nice," she managed to say with a small smile.  
  
"Nice?" Amanda exclaimed, "It's fantastic!"  
  
Ron blushed a deep red.  
  
Jessica rolled her eyes and turned back to Harry.  
  
"So," she said pointedly, "Where are we gong to get help?"  
  
"We'll have to go out and find our own help," Harry said, apparently thinking hard. "Jessica, didn't you say that you saw Snape with the Aurors?"  
  
Jessica nodded, unsure of what he was getting at.  
  
"Then I think I've got a plan!" he announced.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I can't believe we're doing this," Ron yawned.  
  
Harry tried to nod in reply, but instead his head dropped on to Jessica's shoulder and he began to snore.  
  
Jessica sighed and pushed him to the other side of the couch, glancing at her watch.  
  
"Not long now," she said, trying not to sound tired, when in actuality she was ready to drop from exhaustion.  
  
Amanda glared at them.  
  
"I haven't known Hermione half as long as you two have," she said to Harry and Ron, "And it seems like I'm much more concerned than you!"  
  
"No no," Ron said sleepily, "We're plenty concerned…"  
  
"You are not," Amanda said, crossing her arms.  
  
Harry sighed and sat back up, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"Alright, alright, we're awake…we're awake," he said groggily.  
  
"Why did you even suggest this if you were going to fall asleep?" Jessica demanded.  
  
"I wasn't…" he began. Jessica stopped listening, and turned instead to look out the window. The grounds were black and there were few stars in the sky tonight. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something moving very fast across the grounds. She squinted, trying to discern a definite shape. As she watched, a cloud shifted and moonlight illuminated the grounds.  
  
Realizing quickly that this is what they had been waiting for, she stood up.  
  
"Hurry!" she whispered, racing toward the door.  
  
Tired as they may have been, Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. Jessica and Amanda stood in front of the portrait hole, fumbling with the invisibility cloak.  
  
"Come on!" Amanda whispered urgently.  
  
The four of them squeezed under the cloak and left the Common Room. This task proved to be very difficult, as they had never had four people under the cloak at one time before.  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
"Get off me, will you?!"  
  
"Who's hand is that?"  
  
"Is this my leg?"  
  
"Will you all shut up!" Jessica hissed.  
  
"Who's there?" demanded a disgruntled Fat Lady.  
  
They all fell silent.  
  
After they had gone for another three corridors, Jessica decided they were safe.  
  
"We're going to have to move a bit quicker," she whispered.  
  
They began to go as fast as they could without actually running, and in a few minutes, they found themselves standing on the front lawn, a slight breeze rippling the cloak.  
  
"Hold on a minute," Harry said quietly. Slowly, he slid the cloak off his head, squinting through the dark night. There was a long pause. "There he is!" he said suddenly, "He's about to go in to the forest."  
  
Ron groaned.  
  
"Stop whining," Jessica snapped, "Come on."  
  
The four of them continued to amble their way across the lawn, until finally they could all see him. Professor Snape was standing right outside the entrance to the Forbidden Forest, consulting a large map.  
  
"This is it," Harry whispered, causing several knots to form themselves in Jessica's stomach.  
  
They crept slowly closer, trying not to make a sound. After what felt like an eternity, Snape rolled up the map, lighted his wand, and started off in to the forest.  
  
Amanda gulped, Harry took a deep breath, and Jessica closed her eyes and crossed her fingers. Ron, however, made no move as they entered the forest. Jessica suspected he was trying his hardest not to run. The moment they stepped in to the shadows cast by the large trees, Jessica could tell this was not somewhere she wanted to be. They hesitated for a minute.  
  
"You know," Ron said suddenly, "I'm sure there's another way to do this. I mean, this is just too dangerous. Following Snape in to the Forbidden Forest without our wands lighted? It's just crazy!"  
  
Jessica froze. He was right. They were in over their heads here. They should just turn around and head straight up to Dumbledore's office.  
  
She swallowed. "You're right, Ron. Let's go back."  
  
She turned to go, but felt a hand grip her arm.  
  
"No, Jess," Amanda said quietly, "We can't go back now. We just can't. You know that."  
  
"Well listen," Harry cut in, "Whatever we're going to do, we'd better decide fast."  
  
Jessica looked up. The faint light coming from Snape's wand was getting further away by the second. Without it, they wouldn't stand a chance of making it to the Aurors alive.  
  
She took a deep breath.  
  
"If we don't go now, we'll lose the chance to go at all. So what do you think. Do we leave…or do we follow?"  
  
"I vote that we continue following Snape," Amanda said.  
  
"I want to head back to the castle," Ron said immediately.  
  
Jessica glanced at Harry.  
  
"You're choice," she said quietly.  
  
He paused for a moment. Then, finally he said firmly, "We've come too far to turn back now."  
  
"Then let's go," Jessica whispered, starting forward.  
  
  
  
(A/N) This would have been up sooner, but I was bitten by the laziness bug. Oh, and I fired my muse. It just wasn't gonna work that way. Ok, so, next chapter soon, and I think I'm gonna stop this before I get to 40 chapters…that just seems a touch excessive, ya know? Ok well im out, please review! I love you guys!!!! 


	35. ~the sneeze~

The path seemed to be narrowing as they went further. Twigs and leaves cluttered what little space they had to move in.  
  
After twenty minutes of following the faint bobbing light, Jessica felt a funny tickling sensation at the back of her nose. She could tell right away that it was an oncoming sneeze. Shutting her eyes tight, she tried desperately to stop it, but all it did was make her eyes water.  
  
They started moving slower.  
  
"Hey! Who's slowing us down?" Ron demanded.  
  
"I….I…" Jessica gasped, trying to shake her head.  
  
"What?" Harry asked, bewildered.  
  
"I said I…" she began, but at that moment, the sneeze caught up with her. "a-a-a-CHOO!" she exploded, stumbling on a rock.  
  
The effect of a simple sneeze was incredible.  
  
Amanda stumbled and fell back, sending Ron flying in to Harry, who immediately stuck his hand out and grabbed a low tree branch. Jessica, trying desperately to regain her footing, stepped right on top of a large plant. In an instant, she felt hot liquid sear across her leg and on her ankle. The next moment, a strong smell of petrol penetrated the air.  
  
"Ugh!" she said, holding her nose. Jessica looked down at what she had stepped on, her leg still burning painfully, and realized with a jolt of the stomach that it was a buboter plant…with every single one of its bulbs burst open. Tears stinging her eyes, she tried to stand up. But the moment she set down her non-burnt leg, a sharp rock caught her in the side.  
  
There was a simultaneous scream as they all fell over backward, the tree branch Harry had been holding snapped with a loud crack. They lay there in a heap for a moment. A passerby would have found this sight extremely funny. Miscellaneous hands and legs and other body parts were hanging out from the cloak, looking as though someone had just run down the path, dropping limbs. Jessica may have even found this funny, had she not been in the middle of the pain.  
  
She groaned, reaching down to touch her leg. The sensation was torture. It felt as though someone had poured acid on her skin, and little welts were starting to form all over her ankle.  
  
Somewhere below her, she heard Harry wince.  
  
"Jess," he said, his voice sounding oddly muffled. "Can you get your elbow out of my back?"  
  
"Sorry," she said siting up.  
  
"Ouch!" Ron cried.  
  
"Sorry, sorry," Harry mumbled.  
  
Amanda picked her head up off the ground, spitting out a mouthful of leaves.  
  
"Who sneezed?" she growled.  
  
"That would be me," Jessica said, pulling up her pant leg carefully, "Sorry about that, but don't worry. You won't have to beat me, I got myself pretty good." She cringed as she touched her leg gently.  
  
Harry straightened up, brushing dirt and twigs out of his hair.  
  
"Oooh. Ouch," he said, examining Jessica's leg.  
  
Ron stood up, brushing dirt from his robes.  
  
He bent down to look at her leg, and she saw him flinch.  
  
"Are you going to be ok? I mean, should we stop?" he asked, sounding concerned.  
  
"And do what?" she said through clenched teeth, rolling her pant leg back down. "Sit here and wait to be killed?"  
  
Amanda was the last one to throw off the invisibility cloak. Shaking her hair out of her face, she went and sat down against a tree.  
  
"She's right," she said, massaging her head where she had fallen, "We can't stay here."  
  
Harry walked over and picked up the invisibility cloak. Brushing it off, he held it up to look at it in the faint starlight that was filtering through the trees.  
  
"That's funny," he said quietly, "There's nothing wrong with it. It isn't ripped or anything."  
  
"I think you fell harder than the rest of us," Ron said wide-eyed, "That's not a 'funny' thing. That's a good thing. A very good thing."  
  
Jessica turned around painfully, squinting through the blackness that the canopy of trees above them created. The light from Snape's wand had stopped moving. Jessica's heart jumped up in to her throat.  
  
Had he heard them?  
  
She stood up slowly, not taking her eyes off the light. As she watched, it started moving quickly in their direction.  
  
She backed up slowly. "Harry," she whispered, tugging on his sleeve.  
  
"Wha—" he began loudly, turning around. She clamped her hand on his mouth and pointed toward the light, which was coming ever closer. She watched as his eyes grew wide with horror. Not wasting any time, he dove to the ground and grabbed his cloak. Ron, who had realized what was happening, used a twig to brush away their footprints. Jessica looked over her shoulder. There was a small patch of bush-free land where they could hide. She waved her hands above her head to get Harry's attention, then pointed to this. He nodded and, clutching the invisibility cloak, he, Jessica, and Ron rushed over to it.  
  
Amanda, who hadn't been paying attention, looked up.  
  
"Jessica?" she said loudly, standing up. She paused a moment, looking around. "You guys," she called, "This isn't funny! Where are you?"  
  
Jessica's head jerked up. She had forgotten all about Amanda! Glancing up the path, she saw that Snape was running extremely fast toward them. She wouldn't have time to run out and get her. Harry, apparently, had noticed this too.  
  
Quidditch reflexes kicking in, he dove forward, grabbed Amanda, and jumped with her into the bushes, causing her to let out a strangled scream, which he quickly muffled. Within seconds, Snape came running in to view. He skidded to a halt right in front of where they had been standing, lantern swinging dangerously.  
  
He paused, moving his head from side to side. Jessica crouched even lower, holding her breath. Snape looked down at the ground, obviously checking for footprints. Jessica suddenly remembered what the book had said about Harry suspecting Snape of being able to read minds. She bit her lower lip, praying that Harry had been mistaken. Suddenly, Snape's head jerked up, a malicious smile forming on his face. He turned slowly toward where Harry and Amanda were hiding. As he turned, the lantern cast a stream of light across the ground, illuminating the footprints that Harry had mistakenly made in his hurry to get Amanda out of the way.  
  
He inched closer, eyes narrowing through the dark. Jessica glanced at Ron who looked extremely pale. She decided it was time for drastic action. She stuck her hand down in to the dirt, hoping there was nothing down there that could bite, and felt around silently. Finally, she found what she had been looking for.  
  
Snape bent forward, his long fingers mere inches from the bush. Jessica took a deep breath, and, praying that her aim was true, lifted her hand high above her head and threw the stone she had picked up as hard as she possibly could. She barely saw it go whizzing past Snape's head, when she heard it land with a rustling noise in a nearby bush. Snape straightened back up immediately, obviously trying to spot the source of the disturbance. Now, he turned on Ron and Jessica. He approached their hiding place quickly, his small black eyes squinted against the night.  
  
Jessica grabbed Ron and pushed him down further in to the bush. Snape was coming closer, now bent over, examining carefully the plant growth they were hiding under.  
  
Jessica shut her eyes tight, waiting for the blow to fall, but it never came.  
  
"Severus?" called a woman's voice. "Severus? Are you here?"  
  
Snape stood up quickly, looking around.  
  
"Who's there?" he called in to the darkness.  
  
There was no answer for a long time.  
  
Finally, a man's voice answered. "Severus? It's Dilan! Isabel is with me! Can you hear me? We need to talk to you immediately!"  
  
"I'm coming," Snape said, starting quickly back down the path.  
  
Jessica stuck her head out of the bush, watching the lantern disappear.  
  
Ron jumped up beside her, reaching down to help her climb out.  
  
Jessica stood, brushing dirt off her robes. Harry and Amanda had too emerged from their bush.  
  
"Who threw that?" Harry mouthed.  
  
Jessica raised her hand meekly, deciding it was probably not wise to speak at this point.  
  
"You know," he whispered thoughtfully, "Angelina is taking over Oliver's job of Keeper, seeing as how he graduated. So now we're short one Chaser…how about it? Want to do it?"  
  
Jessica gaped, but Amanda interjected.  
  
"This is hardly the time or place," she said pointedly, "Now let's go. This may be our only chance."  
  
  
  
(A/N) Did this make sense?! I hope it did! A tad boring, I think, but the next chapters will be better! Don't forget to review! I love you guys! You're the reason that people like me write! The fans of stories are a bigger inspiration than the story itself! I promise that if you review me, I'll try and review your stories! Ok, I'm out! Please Review! 


	36. ~the aurors find out~

In what seemed like seconds, they were standing in an open field. Snape was walking briskly toward a group of what seemed like five people, his black robes billowing out behind him.  
  
"It has happened, we have just received word," he said promptly as he reached the group.  
  
Intrigued, Harry, Ron, Jessica, and Amanda inched closer quietly, straining their ears.  
  
"What do you mean, Severus?" asked a woman whom Jessica recognized as Isabel.  
  
"Here," he said reaching inside his robes and producing a small piece of parchment.  
  
A different Auror, whom Jessica realized was Isabel, seized the paper, read it, and passed it around. Finally, it reached Seria. As her eyes scanned over it, her hand slowly made its way to her mouth. Finally, after a long pause, she lowered it, her eyes wide.  
  
"What are you going to tell Saria?" she whispered.  
  
Snape looked over his shoulder. That's when Jessica saw her. Saria, her and Harry's ancestor, was sitting against a tree, playing with a blade of grass. This wasn't the first time that Jessica suspected she was a child inside. For a moment, she longed to be her. Saria seemed so care free, so relaxed.  
  
Jessica nudged Harry hard in the ribs, and nodded toward Saria. She saw his jaw drop. Giving him a pointed look, she nodded slowly.  
  
Snape shifted his feet uncomfortably.  
  
"That," he said, not looking at them, "I was going to leave up to one of you."  
  
The six of them stood quietly for a moment, the breeze rippling their cloaks ever so slightly. Isabel was biting her lower lip, Dilan was rubbing his hands together in a way that said all too clearly he didn't want to be the one, the little Auror named Jacob was rocking back and forth on the balls of his heels, and Albert looked extremely sober.  
  
Finally Seria spoke.  
  
"Alright," she sighed, "I'll do it."  
  
She started off toward Saria, but before she'd gone two steps, Isabel grabbed her arm.  
  
Seria looked back at her, a little shocked. Isabel didn't say anything for a moment.  
  
Finally, in a shaky sort of voice, she said, "Just, don't be too blunt, ok?"  
  
"Trust me," Seria said, "I can handle it."  
  
And with that, she left.  
  
Jessica nudged Harry again, but this time it was to signal that they should follow her. They moved quickly and silently beside Seria who was obviously preparing in her mind what she was going to say.  
  
In what seemed like no time, they were standing beside Saria. Harry could now see clearly the amazing similarities in their appearance.  
  
"Hello, Seria," Saria said good-naturedly, looking up.  
  
Seria nodded, sitting down beside her.  
  
"Anything the matter?" Saria asked, sounding concerned.  
  
Seria shook her head, but stopped herself. "Yes," she whispered, "There is something very wrong."  
  
"What is it?" Saria asked, growing worry in her voice.  
  
"Saria, the other Aurors…well, they were summoned…"  
  
Saria clapped a hand to her cheek.  
  
"Oh don't scare me like that!" she exclaimed. "What? That's not all?" she added, seeing the expression on Seria's face.  
  
"No, it's not," Seria said slowly, "I don't how to tell you this, so I'll just say it…They were killed, Saria. Someone, we don't know who, tried to summon them, but they were intercepted. They were kidnapped. Dumbledore just received this note," she said, pulling the parchment out of her pocket, "It says that they were…killed."  
  
Saria lowered her hand slowly, the color draining from her face.  
  
"Even Vincent?" she said after a long time.  
  
Seria nodded.  
  
Saria put her face in her hands. By the light of the stars, Jessica could see glistening, silver tears running down her fair cheek.  
  
"What about the potion of immortality we all took?" she said quietly, tears still pouring from her eyes.  
  
"They found a way to break it," Seria said, "It says so here in the note. Apparently, this is some ancient civilization that did this. They knew a way to end the effects of the potion for a short period of time…just long enough for them to die."  
  
Saria continued to stare at the soft brown earth beneath her, shaking her head slightly.  
  
"We all lost friends," Seria said softly, "But perhaps you've had the worst loss of all."  
  
Saria suddenly spoke for the first time in minutes.  
  
"This won't be forgotten," she said quietly, staring off in to space. "Vincent will not have died in vain," she said, getting louder. Finally, she tilted her head up and shouted to the starry sky, "You hear me! Vincent! You will be avenged!"  
  
Harry, Ron, Jessica, and Amanda all stood very still, numb with shock.  
  
After a long time, Jessica felt a tug on her sleeve.  
  
"Let's go," Amanda mouthed, nodding toward the castle.  
  
  
  
(A/N) Ok, this chapter SUCKS. But hey, im trying, and that's all that counts…rite? No? well…you suck! Ok, im done ranting. Review pleeeeeeeeease?????!!! 


	37. ~Draco's past~

Getting back to the castle proved to be much easier than they had originally thought. Not having to worry about Snape anymore, they lit their wands and started off. From the looks of it, Snape had been taking this path for quite some time now. Little paths had been cleared, branches and twigs neatly brushed out of the way. Soon enough, the path began to lighten as the thickness of the trees started decreasing. Jessica was just marveling at how beautiful the strange and exotic plants looked bathed in the silver starlight, when they stepped out in to a treeless area of land. Casting a glance around, she realized they were back on the grounds, clear of the forest. She breathed a sigh of relief. They had made it.  
  
  
  
Their footsteps echoed emptily off the walls as they made their way up to Gryffindor Tower. Jessica's head was spinning with questions that she knew she couldn't answer. Her eyelids were heavy, but her mind was buzzing. Amanda was swaying slightly as she walked, apparently exhausted.  
  
When they reached the Common Room, they slowly slid off the cloak. The four of them stood there for a while, staring at eachother.  
  
"Well, good night," Amanda said cautiously.  
  
"Ya, 'night," Jessica said smiling.  
  
"Right," Ron said, turning to go upstairs to the boy's dormitory. He was halfway up before he turned around. "G…Good night," he said finally.  
  
Harry looked at Jessica and rolled his eyes.  
  
"Good night," he said sounding exhausted.  
  
Amanda smiled, and her and Jessica started back in to their room. Had Jessica been a little more alert, she would have noticed that she never heard Harry's footsteps going up the stairs.  
  
  
  
Jessica lay awake that night, listening to Amanda's steady breathing, and feeling jealous that she couldn't fall as peacefully asleep. Turning over, she caught a glimpse of their door. It took her a moment to realize what was odd about it. Through the crack between the floor and the bottom of the door, light was flooding in.  
  
She sat up, confused. Jessica was positive that they hadn't left any lights on in the Common Room. Intrigued, she climbed out of bed and pulled on her robe. She stopped just before opening the door, however, and turned around to grab her wand.  
  
Holding it in front of her like a sword, she entered the Common Room.  
  
The fire was nearly dead, tiny red embers still flickering in a vain attempt to rekindle themselves. A figure was curled up in one of the armchairs, a candle resting on the table next to it. Jessica approached it slowly, tightening her grip on her wand.  
  
"Who's there?" she asked shakily.  
  
The figure jumped. Jessica caught a glimpse of messy black hair.  
  
"Who's that?" the person asked hurriedly.  
  
Jessica squinted through the darkness. "Harry?"  
  
He stood up and turned around.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Hello," Jessica said slowly, lowering her wand. Not taking her eyes off him, she walked over slowly and sat in a chair across from his. She paused for a moment.  
  
"What are you doing up?" he yawned, sitting back down.  
  
"I should be asking you that question," she countered, tucking her wand away.  
  
He hesitated for a moment. "Couldn't sleep," he said finally.  
  
"Really," she said suspiciously, "That's interesting."  
  
"Ya," he said offhandedly, "But what are you doing up this late?"  
  
"Same reason, I suppose," she sighed, leaning back. Should she tell him the truth? Jessica paused a moment, recalling what she had always been told while growing up; Honesty is the best policy. She swallowed hard.  
  
"No," she said abruptly, "That's not the reason."  
  
Harry looked up, startled. "What do you mean?" he asked.  
  
"Harry," she began slowly, "Do you remember when I had that…er…confrontation with Malfoy?"  
  
"Ya, sure I do," he said, after thinking a moment.  
  
"Didn't you ever wonder," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper, "What I threatened him with?"  
  
"Well, yes," he admitted, "But after all that's happened, I guess it kind of slipped my mind."  
  
She nodded. "Well, I think it's time I showed you. Come on."  
  
Jessica stood up and grabbed his arm, leading him toward her and Amanda's room.  
  
"Be very quiet," Jessica whispered, "I don't want to wake Amanda."  
  
Jessica and Harry slipped quietly in to the room. She, wasting no time, crept over to her dresser. Opening a lower drawer, Jessica lifted a small box from its depth. She beckoned to Harry and together, they slipped back out in to the Common Room.  
  
"Here," she whispered.  
  
Leaning close to the box, she murmured that word, "Draconis." Instantly, the lid flew off.  
  
She reached inside and grabbed a small piece of paper.  
  
"Do you remember the day you found me in the library researching curse scars?" she asked.  
  
"Yes," Harry said slowly, wondering where this could be going.  
  
"Well, before I came across the information I was looking for, I found…something else," she said cautiously.  
  
"And it was…" Harry prodded.  
  
"Just read it," she said, thrusting the paper at him.  
  
Confused, but still intrigued, he lowered his eyes to the paper.  
  
"SLOTUS MALFOY DISCOVERS NEW CURSE SCAR" proclaimed the title.  
  
He looked at Jessica with raised eyebrows, and she nodded, urging him to keep reading.  
  
"Slotus Malfoy, head of the Department of Magical Injuries at the Ministry of Magic, has developed a substantial theory of a new, not yet acquired, curse scar. After being a trained Auror for thirty years, he retired to research the curses he had seen used so many times. It became his instant challenge to find a countercurse for the Avada Kedavra curse, arguably the worst in existence. Mr. Malfoy has stumbled upon a certain chemical imbalance, which may make it possible for the Avada Kedavra curse to leave a raindrop shaped scar. This, however, is very difficult to prove, as no one has yet survived this curse. Skeptics the world over say that should anyone survive this curse, their scar would take the form of the lightning bolt, which would mean great strength and power, while others say that it is impossible for anyone to survive it. Yet, despite the controversy, Slotus spends countless hours trying to prove his research. When he isn't at work, he resides in his Eastern Scotland residence, Poluta, with his wife, Maria Zurk. Their son, Lucius Malfoy, is expected to follow in his father's footsteps and become an Auror. He is a recent graduate of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and is currently living in London with his wife Narcissa, and his son, Draco. Slotus Malfoy is pictured here with his grandson, Draco."  
  
Below the article was a picture of a very old man, who had a little baby boy in his arms. Harry knew in an instant that this was Draco. Even back then he was pale, blonde, and had a pointed nose. The only thing missing, in Harry's opinion, was the smirk he usually wore.  
  
He lowered the paper and looked at Jessica, puzzled.  
  
He didn't want to admit that he had no idea how this related to anything else, but he had to say something. "Er…" he began slowly, "What does this all mean?"  
  
"Here," Jessica said leaning over. "Read this." She pointed at a sentence in the article.  
  
He looked back at it.  
  
"When he isn't at work, he resides in his Easter Scotland residence, Poluta, with his wife, Maria Zurk," he read aloud.  
  
"Exactly," she said, her eyes widening.  
  
"Exactly what?" Harry asked, feeling stupid.  
  
"Harry!" she exclaimed, exasperated, "Don't you remember anything?!" She reached in to her box and pulled out another piece of paper. As she handed it to Harry, he noticed it was in Ron's untidy handwriting. "The Aurors," she whispered.  
  
That's when it hit him. As he lowered his eyes down the list of names, she leaned over and pointed to one: Kila Zurk. Zurk? That can't mean…  
  
"You're not saying," he said slowly, "That you think Malfoy is a descendant?"  
  
"That's exactly what I'm saying!" she said hurriedly, "I mean, it makes sense! No wonder our side took them back after Voldemort fell from power! Someone knew! Someone knew that they were descended from one of the ten Aurors!" Her eyes were bright and she was talking very fast. Harry's first impression was that she had gone insane, but then a more important problem hit him like a rock.  
  
"Jess, do you realize what you're saying? Amanda said that if the three of us combined our power, we might be able to replace the three Aurors…but they killed four didn't they? You don't think we're going to have to…"  
  
Jessica waved a hand, cutting him off.  
  
"Don't worry about that," she snapped, "But don't you see? Malfoy is afraid of his past. In his opinion, his grandfather was a disgrace to the name of wizard…working alongside Muggles to try and get rid of the Dark Lord," she smiled, "Which gives us the upper hand."  
  
(A/N) does this make sense?! Yes? No? I thought I had to clear up that little situation w/Malfoy before I forgot :D  
  
ok, well, please review!!! I love you guys!!! 


	38. ~detention!~

"Settle down class, settle down," Professor McGonagall snapped as she swept in to the classroom. Ron quickly pocketed the Chudley Cannon cards he had been showing Harry.  
  
"Now, before we begin class today, I have a very important message for you," she paused a moment to look around the room. "As I'm sure you all know, the Spring Ball is approaching quickly. We have just received word that the Minister of Magic himself will be attending." A murmur of interest swept through the room, and she raised a hand to silence it. "Please allow me to continue," she said, "Now, to attend this dance, you must be in the fifth year or higher. We have decreased the age limit because of the number of honored people who are expected to attend. You must have a date. The dance will go from 6:00 in the evening, until midnight. Please be on your best behavior. I would hate to be informed that a Gryffindor embarrassed the entire school in front of such an important audience. Now for your lesson today…" She turned back around to write on the blackboard.  
  
Jessica leaned over to Harry. "She seems to be taking this very seriously, huh?" she whispered.  
  
"Yes. She's even more uptight than usual," he replied.  
  
Jessica grinned, but then a thought struck her.  
  
"Harry, what are we going to do about Hermione? I've asked Ron, and he's clueless. Amanda thinks we should charge in to Dumbledore's office and demand help, but I don't think that will work. The teachers already know about it…it's hard not to notice that she hasn't been in class for a while now. They're doing what they can to bring her back, but it doesn't seem to be enough," she whispered.  
  
Harry thought for a moment.  
  
"I don't know what we're going to do," he whispered back, "I mean, she could be anywhere."  
  
"Maybe she's where Amanda was! If she is, we'll have no hope of finding her ag…"  
  
Professor McGonagall slammed down her book.  
  
"Detention Miss Ciccone and Mr. Potter! And if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to Transfiguration matters, please!" she said angrily.  
  
Jessica felt herself turn red.  
  
"Sorry, Professor," she muttered, opening her book.  
  
After forty-five painstaking minutes of taking notes, the bell rang to end classes. Jessica stood and was picking up her books as Professor McGonagall stood up behind her desk.  
  
"Miss Ciccone and Mr. Potter come up here please! We need to arrange your detention," she called.  
  
Jessica groaned. Pulling her bag over her shoulder, she approached McGonagall's desk.  
  
"You will serve your detention tonight at eight o'clock," Professor McGonagall said to her and Harry, "Madame Hooch needs someone to clean off the Quidditch field. Professor Dumbledore has decided to make this an outdoor Ball. A pavilion will be set up, but for now, we need the field to be clipped and any stray trash to be picked up. No wands. You will use your hands. Report to the main hall tonight, and she will escort you down to the Quidditch field," she paused for a moment, "That is all. You may go."  
  
  
  
Jessica was outraged, but Harry didn't seem too angry. She supposed he'd rather be out on his beloved Quidditch field rather than, say, in Snape's dungeon. Slightly miffed that he wasn't more upset, she said a short goodbye to him right after they left McGonagall's classroom. She still had another ten minutes before Herbology. At first she considered going to the library, but then she realized she wouldn't have anyone to talk to. After about thirty seconds of careful consideration, she decided to just go back to her room and work on some homework before she left for Herbology.  
  
As she passed by the hospital wing, a thought struck her. What had happened to Faith? She backtracked a little, trying to be inconspicuous. Glancing in, she saw that every bed was empty. Then where was Faith?  
  
As it turns out, her question was answered in seconds. She had just started to walk again, when a loud bang brought her rushing back to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey had flung open her office door, red in the face. Cho and three of her friends were standing behind her, demanding something.  
  
"What's happened to her?" Cho asked.  
  
"It is no concern of yours, miss," Madame Pomfrey said sternly.  
  
"It is too!" piped up a different girl, "She's our friend!"  
  
Madame Pomfrey considered them a moment.  
  
"She has been removed from the premises," she said shortly.  
  
"Removed?" repeated a shocked Cho, "By who?"  
  
"I am not at liberty to say. That is her business. Not yours. Now I will tell you all one last time to get to your classes or you will be given detention," Madame Pomfrey said, before closing her office door. Jessica could have sworn she heard the lock click.  
  
Cho stood and glared at the door for a full minute.  
  
"Stupid old bat," she hissed. "Come on, let's just go," she said in a somewhat defeated voice.  
  
Jessica recognized this as a cue to move. It would seem rather suspicious that she was snooping in on a private conversation, even though they had been shouting loud enough to inform the entire castle.  
  
She took off as fast as she could, trying not to walk too loudly.  
  
(A/N) I know! It's short! But the next chapter will be up real REAL soon lol! Ok well review I 3 you guys! 


	39. ~herbology mishaps~

She skidded to a halt in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
"Fizzing Whizbees," she panted, and the Fat Lady, looking somewhat concerned, swung open to admit her.  
  
However, Jessica had just started to climb through, when she collided very hard with someone. Next thing she knew, she was flat on her back in the Common Room, looking up at two boys who could only be Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. Oddly enough, they were smiling.  
  
"Sorry," she mumbled, rubbing her arm where she had landed on it.  
  
"No problem," Dean said, a slight laugh in his voice.  
  
Jessica sat up, her head throbbing and her arm stinging. Looking down, she saw blood soaking the arm of her shirt.  
  
Seamus suddenly stopped smiling.  
  
"Here," he said, taking his wand out of his robes. "Remedero," he muttered, pointing at her arm.  
  
Instantly, she felt the cut heal.  
  
"Thank you," she said, standing up, "How did you learn that?"  
  
He smiled and tucked the wand back in his pocket.  
  
"Just a little thing I picked up from Madame Pomfrey," he replied.  
  
Jessica nodded. There was an awkward silence.  
  
"Well," she said, "I'd better be going." Dean and Seamus exchanged glances.  
  
"Wait a minute," Seamus said suddenly, "Jessica, are you going to the Ball with anyone?"  
  
She was struck dumb. Ball? What Ball? Then it hit her; he was talking about the Spring Ball.  
  
"Oh, oh," she said, stumbling for the words, "Well, no. I guess I'm not."  
  
"Well, would you want to go with me?" Seamus asked.  
  
Jessica felt her mouth drop open. Realizing that it must have seemed rude, she shut it quickly.  
  
"Oh…ok," she managed to stutter.  
  
"Great," he smiled, "Well, we'd better go. Don't want to be late."  
  
"Right," she said, still startled, "So…so I'll see you later."  
  
"Bye," he said, and with that, he and Dean climbed through the portrait hole and out of sight.  
  
It took her a full minute to regain herself. She had barely ever talked to Seamus, what made him think she would go with him?  
  
She shook her head. Why wasn't she happy? She never thought someone would ask her, especially Seamus.  
  
Jessica sighed, glancing down at her watch. Only five minutes left before Herbology. After picking up her books, she left the Common room more confused than she had been when she first arrived.  
  
  
  
"Come on, Jess! We're going to be late!" Amanda scolded as they ran down the sloping lawn toward the greenhouses. Jessica had decided not to tell Amanda about what happened with Seamus. She wasn't sure why, but she was sort of uneasy about it.  
  
After what felt like forever, Amanda skidded to a halt in front of the greenhouse and flung open the door. Jessica ambled up slowly behind her, clutching a stitch in her side. She walked in slowly, taking in the smell of the hundreds of plants, which were situated all over the room. She coughed, the pungent aroma being a little too much for her to handle.  
  
"Come on now, Miss Ciccone. Close the door. We're ready to begin," Professor Sprout called from where she was standing, surrounded by Jessica's classmates.  
  
Jessica nodded, and was just pulling the door shut when the bell rang to start class.  
  
She hurried over and set down her bag.  
  
"Told you we'd be late," Amanda whispered as Jessica took her place beside her.  
  
"I wasn't late!" Jessica snapped.  
  
Professor Sprout cleared her throat loudly, giving them a pointed look.  
  
Jessica felt herself turn red. She didn't need another detention today. "Sorry, Professor."  
  
Professor Sprout nodded. "Now," she continued, "Today we will be watering the sleeping Doleflower. It is far safer to water while it is asleep."  
  
Somehow, Jessica didn't like the sound of that.  
  
"Follow me please," Professor Sprout said, beckoning them over to a row of brilliant yellow plants.  
  
Once the class had reassembled itself in the specified spot, Professor Sprout turned to address them, pulling on a pair of thick, brown gloves.  
  
"Now, if you will all pull on your dragon hide gloves, I will demonstrate what you will be doing today," she instructed.  
  
Jessica reached into her bag, feeling around until she finally felt the scaly surface of the gloves beneath her fingertips.  
  
She pulled them on, somewhat reluctantly. The smell of them was quite distinctive. Her mind, however, was taken off the smell the moment her hands slipped inside them. For a minute, all seemed fine, but then she had the distinct impression that she had shoved her hands in a bucket full of mud.  
  
The weight of the gloves suddenly became too intense, jerking her arms into a vertical position, dangling uselessly from their sockets. She winced, trying to bring them back up.  
  
Harry, who was now pulling his own gloves on, glanced over at her.  
  
"What's wrong?" he whispered, after making sure Professor Sprout wasn't looking.  
  
"I don't know," Jessica said through gritted teeth. "It's…these…stupid…gloves," she added, straining against the weight of them. "Why didn't you tell me they were so heavy?" Jessica demanded.  
  
"What?" Harry asked, bewildered.  
  
"Just look at me!" Jessica said irritably, jerking her head (the best that she could) down at her arms.  
  
"What the…" Harry began, but at that exact moment, the weight of Jessica's gloves got the better of her, and she fell to the ground with a loud thud.  
  
Professor Sprout stopped dead in the middle of her lecture.  
  
"Is there a problem back there?" she called, a yellow plant dangling lazily from her hand, snoring.  
  
Harry nudged Jessica with his foot.  
  
"No Professor!" Jessica yelled, "I just…er…dropped my book."  
  
Professor Sprout looked unbelieving.  
  
"Alright, Miss, but do hurry and stand up. I wouldn't want you to miss the demonstration."  
  
Jessica nodded, but she knew no one could see her. From her position lying on her side, the only thing she could see was a forest of ankles and black shoes.  
  
"Harry," she whispered, "Help me!"  
  
Harry kept his eyes on Professor Sprout, but slowly sank down to her level.  
  
"Give me you hand," he whispered.  
  
Jessica glared at him.  
  
"Sorry, sorry," he said quickly, "Here." He reached down to grab her hand.  
  
For a moment it seemed like his plan would work.  
  
"My hand!" he exclaimed.  
  
"What now?" Jessica whispered.  
  
"I'm stuck!" he said through gritted teeth, trying desperately to detach his fingers.  
  
"Son of a…"Jessica began, but that second Professor noticed Harry was gone too.  
  
"Now really!" she scolded. Before Jessica could react, she was storming through the crowd of students, making her way to Jessica and Harry.  
  
She stopped dead in front of them, a puzzled look on her face.  
  
"Sorry Professor," Harry mumbled, still trying to disconnect his fingers from the glove.  
  
Ron, who had been talking to Amanda, turned around.  
  
"What are you doing down there, Harry?" he said, puzzled.  
  
Amanda had just noticed too.  
  
"Jess…" she said slowly.  
  
Jessica jerked her head, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "We're not down here by choice! It's these gloves! I don't know what's wrong with them! They pulled me down, and when Harry tried to help me back up, he got stuck too."  
  
Professor Sprout reached inside her robes and took out her wand. "Hold still," she commanded.  
  
She leaned over them, waving her wand over the gloves and muttering strange spells Jessica had never heard before. After a minute or so, she stood up.  
  
"Go to the hospital wing," she said, "I can't fix this by myself."  
  
"Professor," Jessica said, "How are we supposed to get up there? We can't even stand up."  
  
Professor Sprout turned back to the yellow plants.  
  
"Lucky for you," she said, stripping a few leafs off, "That the Doleflower is a weight vanisher. It will make anything weightless," she stopped and turned to them, "But it is only temporary. So be sure you don't doddle, or the effects of the leaves will disappear."  
  
She turned and shoved a handful of leaves in to the mouth of one of the gloves. Instantly, Jessica's hands, still connected to Harry's fingertips, floated high above her head. For a moment, she was sure her arms had been pulled from their sockets.  
  
Harry stood up quickly, pulling her up with him.  
  
"There now," Professor Sprout said, "Off you go. You will need to get the assignment from someone when you get back."  
  
Jessica and Harry nodded, their hands still floating an inch above their heads, and turned to leave.  
  
  
  
(A/N) Oh my goodness! This site was flaking out on me! ARGH! But its working again! Hooray! So, here's the next chapter, more soon. And you know the drill!  
  
REVIEW PPPLLLLLLEEEEEAAASSSSEEEEE!!!!! 


	40. ~the shadows~

"I want to know who did this," Jessica growled as they made their way across the wet and spongy lawn back toward the castle.  
  
"What makes you think someone did this? Do you think maybe the gloves malfunctioned by themselves?" Harry asked.  
  
"No," Jessica said, shaking her head, "Professor Sprout has been teaching this subject for a long time, don't you think she would have seen a glove malfunction before? And she even said she didn't know how to fix it."  
  
Neither of them said anything for a while.  
  
"Can you imagine how stupid we look?" Harry asked, as a wind picked up, blowing their hands to the far right.  
  
Jessica grinned. "If it's half as stupid as I think it is, we'll be lynched the moment our hands are down again."  
  
Harry laughed.  
  
"I think this is probably one of the worst days I've ever had," Jessica said, now laughing too.  
  
"Oh, it's not over yet," Harry said, "We still have our detention tonight."  
  
Jessica sighed.  
  
They talked very little for the rest of their trip to the hospital wing. When they were just a few corridors away from it, Harry suddenly stopped walking.  
  
Jessica, who hadn't noticed, kept going, and tripped when her hands (still attached to his) pulled her back.  
  
"Harry!" she said, exasperated, "What are you doing? If we don't hurry, the leaves will stop working!"  
  
Harry didn't answer her, he merely continued to stare down a darkened corridor to their right.  
  
"What is it?" Jessica whispered, trying to get a good look.  
  
Harry didn't say anything.  
  
"Harry," she said slowly, "You're scaring me."  
  
Harry remained silent for a moment longer.  
  
"What do you see down there?" he asked suddenly.  
  
"What? Where?" she asked incredulously, craning her neck to see down the corridor.  
  
"There," he said, pointing his free hand to the end of the dark corridor.  
  
Jessica leaned forward even more, nearly losing her balance. That's when she saw it.  
  
At the end of the corridor, a small figure was hunched over in the corner. A candle had been recently lit, burning at the feet of the figure. At first, she had not recognized it. From where she and Harry were standing, the candle was not visible and the dark figure blended with the smoky wall behind it perfectly.  
  
"What is that?" Jessica said shakily, completely forgetting that they had a strict time limit in which to reach the hospital wing.  
  
Harry shook his head. "I don't know."  
  
Jessica had begun to shake, although she couldn't explain why. "Harry, please, let's get out of here," she whispered, pulling him away slightly by tugging her hands.  
  
Harry remained transfixed, staring at that figure with an odd glazed look in his eyes.  
  
"Harry," Jessica said a little louder.  
  
He made no move, nor did he respond.  
  
"Harry!" Jessica shouted in to his ear, growing more terrified by the second.  
  
Without warning, the figure at the end of the hall shifted. It stood slowly. Jessica gasped, and tried to pull Harry away. In an instant, two fiery red eyes had appeared near the top of the still dark figure. Before Jessica had time to react, it was drifting down the hall toward them.  
  
Jessica's scar suddenly began to sear as it never had before. She screamed in pain and stumbled back. Harry was still staring at the figure, unaware of anything happening around him. Still being bound at the hands, Jessica was unable to run or even to prod him back to his senses, so, she did the only thing she knew how to do.  
  
She leaned way back, counting on her weightless hands to hold her up, raised her left leg, and kicked him as hard as she possibly could in the back of the legs.  
  
Instantly, he stumbled. Jessica took advantage of his momentary consciousness.  
  
"Harry!" she screamed, "Move! Come on!" She jerked her hands violently, and he responded.  
  
They raced down the next corridor, the shadowy figure still following them, now gaining speed.  
  
With a jolt of the stomach, Jessica realized that her hands were becoming heavier by the second. If the leaves were to wear off before they reached the hospital wing…  
  
She pulled her hands in front of her, bolting down one corridor after another. After what felt like a year, but was more like a minute, they came in sight of the hospital wing. Jessica's hands were now hanging down past her waist, making it very difficult to run, but Harry was helping her. He had apparently broken free of his trance and was now leading the way with their running. The shadowy figure had closed its range behind them to about three feet, and Jessica could hear its rattled breathing. The only thing that kept her running was the pure, extreme fear, which was coursing through her veins. Her scar was still burning painfully, but that didn't matter to her now. The only thought on her mind, her only purpose for being was to get to that hospital wing.  
  
Her hands were weighing them down more by the second, now hanging below her knees. The figure was now a foot behind them. Jessica could feel its breath, causing the hair on her neck to stand on end. With one last effort, she concentrated all her energy and dove straight in to the hospital wing, where Harry slammed and bolted the door behind them.  
  
Harry slumped against the door, breathing hard. Putting his ear against it, he held up a hand to silence Jessica. They stood like that for a full minute before Harry finally straightened up.  
  
"I think it's gone," he whispered.  
  
"Where's Madame Pomfrey?" Jessica said, casting a glance around the office. She would have been much more relieved about escaping, had her hands not been becoming heavier by the second.  
  
"I don't know," Harry sounded bewildered, "She's usually always in here. I don't know where she could be…"  
  
At that instant, Madame Pomfrey's office door was flung open.  
  
"What is all this racket?" she demanded, "I was writing a very important letter and I…" She stopped upon seeing their hands, now touching the floor. "Freeze," she commanded, suddenly businesslike, "Don't move anything."  
  
She reached over to a plant that was sitting on the windowsill. Jessica sighed as she realized it was yet another Doleflower. As she watched, Madame Pomfrey hurried over and shoved a great quantity of small yellow leaves in to the gloves.  
  
"Sit," she ordered, pointing at the nearest bed. They did as they were told, and Madame Pomfrey hurried to her cabinet, rummaging through jars and bottles.  
  
Harry and Jessica said nothing. They were each amazed that Madame Pomfrey had made no comment about how they looked like they had just run a 10K.  
  
In close to no time, Madame Pomfrey was standing in front of them again, now holding a small glass bottle.  
  
"Only once before in my career have I had to use this," she said, shaking her head. "Now hold still, or you'll get one nasty burn," she said, leaning over the gloves.  
  
Jessica and Harry froze obediently, scarcely daring to breathe. Madame Pomfrey pulled out the tiny cork, which kept the bottle sealed. Jessica immediately crinkled her nose as the smell of something rotten permeated the air. Then, before either of them could react, Madame Pomfrey dumped a large quantity of the contents directly on to the gloves.  
  
Jessica watched, amazed, as the gloves seemed to melt before her eyes. Harry jerked back slightly when it started to melt where his fingers were connected to it.  
  
It was over in about ten seconds. The gloves were gone, but now Jessica had two big red marks around her wrists, and a large amount of Doleflower leaves clutched in her right fist. She looked up at Madame Pomfrey, who was putting the cork to the bottle back in.  
  
"There now," she said finally, setting the tiny bottle down, "Hold on just one more minute." She turned back to her medicine cabinet and once again busied herself with its contents.  
  
Enormously relieved that she now had her hands back, Jessica lifted her arms and stretched. Before she could really enjoy them though, Madame Pomfrey was back and had seized both of her arms.  
  
Jessica looked on as Madame Pomfrey wrapped her hands, wrists, and forearms in thick white gauze. Then, she turned to Harry and wrapped his entire right hand.  
  
"That," she said, straightening up, "Will keep the acid from seeping back up through your skin and burning you."  
  
Jessica was sure she felt Harry shudder next to her.  
  
"I would demand that you stay here for a few days," Madame Pomfrey continued, eyeing them carefully, "But you seem alright enough to go on with your classes. Speaking of which, I think you should get back to them right now. If your hands start to burn again, come straight to me." She moved to the door.  
  
"Now who locked this?" she said, more to herself than Harry and Jessica. She unstuck the bolt, shaking her head. Harry and Jessica jumped off the bed and walked over to the door, trying not to look too guilty. Jessica turned to thank Madame Pomfrey, but she was already headed back in to her office, muttering something about not-so-harmless pranksters.  
  
  
  
(A/N) oook! Here's the next chapter! Hoooooooraaaaayyy!! Oh yes, the dance is approaching fast ^_^ so be prepared for that! I promise that updates will be coming sooner from now on I've just been a little busy lately! But today we had a snow day!!! Yeaaaa!!!! Ok well that's all! PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! heehee ok im done :D  
  
SO much for stopping at 40 chapters, huh? 


	41. ~my name...is Jessica~

Harry and Jessica walked the corridors silently. Neither could really think of anything to say. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, but it left Jessica with an eerie, unsettled feeling. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help glancing over her shoulder ever so often, watching for what might be waiting.  
  
For close to ten minutes, there footsteps echoing emptily off the stone walls, they made their way aimlessly. Jessica was following Harry, but somehow had the distinct impression that he was following her.  
  
Finally, Jessica sighed and checked her watch.  
  
"Nearly time for lunch," she said, although she wasn't positive Harry was listening.  
  
"Let's go to the Hall then," he said immediately, as if that had been the plan all along.  
  
Slightly startled that he'd been paying attention, she agreed and they started down a different corridor.  
  
  
  
"So Amanda," Ron said nonchalantly as they made their way back up towards the castle, "Do you have a dress for the Ball yet?"  
  
Amanda shrugged. "No, but I guess me and Jess will just get ours from that odd dresser of hers. Speaking of Jess, I wonder what was wrong with her gloves. Do you have any guesses?" she added, turning to face him.  
  
Ron was obviously caught off guard. "Well, I don't know," he stuttered, "I suppose they just malfunctioned by themselves. But getting back to the Ball…"  
  
Amanda shook her head. "They can't've malfunctioned all on their own, I mean, Professor Sprout would have known how to fix them I think. But what could have happened to them then? I don't think Jess has any enemies, well, atleast not ones that have access to her gloves..."  
  
Ron cleared his throat. "Amanda…"  
  
"But I just don't know! She was acting rather strangely to me…"  
  
"Amanda," Ron said a little louder.  
  
"But I suppose it could just be the atmosphere. With everything that's going on and all…"  
  
"Amanda!" Ron exploded, "Do you want to go to the Ball with me or not?!"  
  
Amanda stopped dead.  
  
"What?" she asked, not daring to believe it.  
  
"I said," Ron repeated, going red, "Would you like to go to the Ball with me?"  
  
Amanda laughed. "No…you said 'do you want to go to the Ball with me or not?!'"  
  
"Sorry," Ron mumbled, "I got kind of nervous…"  
  
Amanda waved her hand, cutting him off. She studied his face intently for a moment.  
  
"Okay, Ron. I'd love to go to the Ball with you."  
  
  
  
"Hmmm. I wonder where Ron and Amanda are?" Harry wondered aloud as he and Jessica took their places at the lunch table.  
  
Jessica shrugged. "Maybe the lesson went over or something."  
  
Harry nodded, and, by chance, glanced up at the High Table. The teachers were sitting talking amongst themselves, seemingly content, but then something very odd caught Harry's eye. Dumbledore was missing from his usual prominent spot right in the middle of the table.  
  
Harry elbowed Jessica slightly.  
  
"What is it?" she asked, slightly annoyed at almost dumping her pumpkin juice all over herself.  
  
He jerked his head toward the High Table.  
  
"Where do you supposed he could be?" he asked, watching for her reaction.  
  
To his great surprise, she merely shrugged, looking unconcerned.  
  
"Who knows? Maybe he had to answer a call or something," she said, going back to her lunch.  
  
Harry was startled. "Is there something wrong?"  
  
She shook her had. "No," she said firmly, but he didn't quite trust the way she wouldn't meet his eyes.  
  
The truth was, she was thinking about Seamus. What possible reason could he have had to ask her to the Ball? The Whole situation was confusing beyond words.  
  
"Yes," she said suddenly, jerking her head up. "Yes, there is something wrong. It's just that…"  
  
"Awww, true confessions of the Muggle kind." A sneering voice drifted toward them, coming ever closer.  
  
Jessica clenched her teeth, shutting her eyes hard.  
  
Taking a deep breath, she spun around to face the speaker.  
  
"Hello Draco," she said in mock friendless. "And you too, Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle," she added sweetly to his trollish goons.  
  
They merely glared and cracked their knuckles menacingly.  
  
"Hello, muggle," Draco said nonchalantly, a smirk lingering around his pointed face.  
  
"My name," Jessica said firmly, but still sweetly, "is Jessica."  
  
"Sorry. You're right, muggle," Draco said with a sarcastic grin.  
  
"I'm terribly sorry," Jessica said, choosing her words carefully, "I do believe that I forgot for a moment just how stupid you are." She paused and dropped her voice to a sympathetic tone. "Let me help you remember what my name is, Draco. I promise you'll never forget it again."  
  
She reached down and picked up her pumpkin juice.  
  
"Here," she smiled innocently.  
  
"J!" she said, splashing it on the front of his robes.  
  
"E!" she said louder, splashing more on.  
  
"S!" she said again, smiling and splashing a lot more on.  
  
Then she stood up, still smiling.  
  
Before he could react, she lifted the amount left in her goblet and poured it all over his head.  
  
"S!" she finished, shaking the last few drops out.  
  
He staggered backwards into Crabbe and Goyle, who also stumbled back. Slipping in the pumpkin juice that was now all over the floor, they landed flat on their backs with a loud thud. Draco stood, wiping the orange juice out of his white blonde hair furiously, but still failing to prevent it from seeping down on to his face.  
  
Harry sat torn between shock and great amusement. All that he was capable of doing was sitting and gaping. Jessica surveyed the scene again, grinning, then looked down at Harry.  
  
"Let's go. I've suddenly lost my appetite," she said.  
  
"You'll pay for that one, muggle!" Draco screamed after her retreating back, drawing the attention of the teachers.  
  
Professor McGonagall stood up quickly.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy," she said, appalled, "I demand to know what you were doing! Look at this mess!" she shrieked, pointing at the floor.  
  
"Professor, I…!" Malfoy began.  
  
"I don't want to hear it!" McGonagall said, holding up her hands, "Clean it up! All of it! Now!" she ordered, here eyes flashing. "And thirty points from Slytherin for this! I'll be seeing Professor Snape about you three!"  
  
"But Professor I…!" Malfoy interrupted furiously.  
  
"Now, Mr. Malfoy," she ordered in her most dangerous voice.  
  
Jessica was positive that they had said more, but at this point, she and Harry had burst out of the Great Hall and into the entranceway. She had been trying maddeningly to control her laughter, but found it impossible to do for any longer. As they doors shut behind them, she and Harry burst into hysterical laughter which rang around the hallways for a good five minutes.  
  
"That was brilliant!" Harry gasped.  
  
"Call it a stroke of inspiration," Jessica smirked.  
  
"I'm just sorry Ron didn't see that," he said, wiping away tears of laughter.  
  
"Speaking of which," Jessica said, pointing toward the front doors.  
  
Ron and Amanda were walking up toward them.  
  
"Wow, what happened to you guys?" Amanda asked, looking at their beat red faces.  
  
Jessica glanced at Harry.  
  
"Go ahead," she said, "You tell them."  
  
  
  
(A/N) See?! I told you updates would be comer quicker :D  
  
this is short, maybe too short, but hey! It's a chapter! Take what you can get lol  
  
more soon!  
  
Please review!!! I love you guys! You are the reason that I write at all!!! 333  
  
REVIEW PLLLLLEEEASSSSEEEE! 


	42. ~whee! they unfroze my account~

At seven forty-five that night, Jessica and Harry trudged out of the Common Room and started down toward the Quidditch pitch. As expected, Harry was excited about the detention, something Jessica didn't take too kindly to.  
  
"You know," he said, glancing at her, "It could always be worse."  
  
Jessica shook her head. She couldn't think of many things worse than being stuck on a Quidditch field in the freezing cold picking up garbage for what might end up being the entire night.  
  
They reached the pitch in about ten minutes. Harry was still spouting off optimistic clichés, which Jessica was only too smart to fall for.  
  
Madame Hooch met them in front of the stands.  
  
"Here you are," she said, dropping a pile of burlap sacks at their feet. "Hagrid has been kind enough to provide us with these. You must fill each with whatever garbage you may find. Since it is rather dark, I will leave my wand, as I'm fairly sure you were both instructed to leave yours behind." She raised an inquisitive eyebrow, and they nodded in response. "Very well, I will leave it so that you may see what you are doing." She reached in to her robes, muttered, "Lumos," and set the lit wand in a holder on the edge of the seats. Turning back to them, she added, "I will come to get you at midnight. Now, however, I must go."  
  
With a small nod, she turned and headed back up the lawn toward the castle. Jessica and Harry stood and watched her until she was out of sight. Shivering slightly, Jessica looked down at the pile of bags at her feet and sighed.  
  
"Might as well start," she said gloomily.  
  
"Right," Harry said brightly. He glanced over at Jessica, smiling, but the moment he looked at her, he could feel her glare. "I mean," he said more seriously, "Let's get to work."  
  
Jessica lifted one of the bags, casting a glance around the grounds. The castle was up on the north end of the lawn, it's many towers highlighted impressively against the horizon. Hagrid's hut stood in front of the Forbidden Forest, which looked as menacing and foreboding as ever. A candle was lit somewhere inside the hut, giving the exterior a soft glow, almost like an oil painting.  
  
Jessica shook her head and bent over to open the bag, when something moving caught the corner of her eye. A bitter cold wind was now sweeping across the grounds, and she trembled as she watched a huge figure emerge from the small, tranquil cabin.  
  
Locking her eyes on it, she watched as it moved silently along the edge of the forbidden forest, proceeding up toward the castle. Thinking fast, she grabbed the wand, whispered, "Nox," and ducked down behind the first row of seats. Harry, who hadn't noticed, jumped when the light went out.  
  
"Hey!" he said loudly, groping around in the darkness, "Jess! Where'd the light go?"  
  
Jessica's throat clenched as the figure stumbled slightly then stopped less that thirty yards away. She reached out and pulled Harry back to where she was, hoping that she was imaging the figure coming closer. Jessica pinched Harry hard on the arm, and he took the hint to shut his mouth. She watched fearfully for a full minute, before she saw a great arm come up and scratch the huge hairy head of the person. With that, they turned and continued up the lawn until they reached the castle.  
  
Jessica let out a long breath and looked at Harry.  
  
"I think that was Hagrid," she whispered.  
  
"So what if it was?" Harry replied.  
  
"Well, what's he doing going up to the castle at this time of night?" Jessica inquired.  
  
Harry shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe Dumbledore called a meeting or something…" he trailed off into silence.  
  
"You don't think…?"  
  
"No, of course not…"  
  
"Right…it can't be…"  
  
They stopped and looked at eachother. Jessica looked down, biting her lower lip nervously.  
  
Harry stood up. "I think we should go and see what this is all about."  
  
"Oh, but Harry…" Jessica began, but Harry cut her off.  
  
"Look, if you don't want to come, fine by me. But I'm going."  
  
Jessica sighed. "I suppose you're right. Let's go."  
  
She stood slowly, careful not to trip on anything.  
  
"I think we can make it up to the castle without the light," she whispered into the darkness.  
  
"Alright, but we're going to have to be careful," Harry agreed, somewhat reluctantly.  
  
Jessica stuck out her hands, feeling around. Soon, she felt the cold metal of the Quidditch stands beneath her grasp. Going on feel alone, she slowly made her way out into the open. Harry was close behind her.  
  
Once they emerged into the cold, open air, Jessica shivered and pulled her coat tighter around herself.  
  
"I'll lead from here," Harry offered, "I know my way around the grounds better."  
  
Jessica nodded in agreement, then realized that he couldn't see her.  
  
"Alright," she said, her teeth chattering slightly.  
  
Harry moved swiftly and silently, carefully avoiding any holes or bumps. More than once, Jessica thought she'd lost him. She finally reached out and grabbed him by the back of his cloak to make sure she was following the right path. In what seemed like hours, they reached the front doors. Jessica, pink-cheeked and freezing, pulled the door open, and sighed as she was greeted with a wave of generous warmth.  
  
Harry stood next to her, looking around. Jessica was positive that they were thinking the same thing. Where could Hagrid have been going?  
  
The entrance hall was empty, and all of the lights were out. Several doors stood on the walls, each dormant. Suddenly, Harry poked Jessica and nodded at an oak door at the very end of the hallway. Beneath, a pale light was shining through, illuminating a small patch of floor.  
  
Harry started towards it, Jessica close behind him. As they came nearer, they could hear muffled voices and the occasional scrap of a chair being dragged across the floor. Once they were a few feet away, Harry pulled Jessica off into a corner and out of sight.  
  
This action was not a moment too soon, for right then, the door burst open and out walked a very disgruntled looking Madame Hooch.  
  
"If you'll excuse me," she said, turning and addressing the room, "I cannot stay and deal with such foolish matters as these. I have students out on that Quidditch field serving a detention, and if what you say is true, I won't leave them out there a moment longer…"  
  
Jessica's stomach clenched, as she looked down at the wand that was clasped in her white-knuckled grip. She glanced at Harry, who looked somewhat ill.  
  
"Please," came Dumbledore's voice from inside the room, "It is highly advisable that you stay for the remainder of the meeting. I assure you, it will not take long. There are, however, some rather important points that I think you should hear."  
  
Yes, Jessica begged mentally, Please please go back in…  
  
Madame Hooch looked again at the front doors; she seemed to be making a very difficult decision. Finally, she turned around.  
  
"Alright, Dumbledore," she said reluctantly. She re-entered the room, but perhaps luckily for Jessica and Harry, did not shut the door behind her.  
  
Leaning forward slightly, Jessica watched as Madame Hooch took her seat and the end of an extremely long table. Unless she was very much mistaken, every teacher in the school was seated at it, including Filch and Hagrid. Very curious about what could possibly be going on, she watched as Dumbledore stood at the far head of the table and stared gravely at the teachers.  
  
"You are all now aware of the current situation Hogwarts is in. Four of the people who were going to save us are dead. They were supposed to be indestructible, but our enemy has found a way past that. Six of their number are currently residing in the Forbidden Forest, and, as our correspondent tells me, they are becoming restless."  
  
"That is correct, Headmaster," Snape said, standing up, "I have been going down to the Aurors every night since their arrival. The news of their comrades dying has effected them greatly. Now, even the most tranquil ones are demanding to fight. They are becoming impatient and are feeling that their powers are going to waste…"  
  
"Nonsense!" tiny Professor Flitwick cut in, "How can their powers be going to waste? They should be merely conserving their energy for the real battle…"  
  
"But if they cannot use their power," McGonagall interrupted, "It may begin to deteriorate…"  
  
"Their powers have been dormant for centuries!" Snape retorted, "They are merely looking for the opportunity to demonstrate their skills…"  
  
"Perhaps," Dumbledore said quietly, "It has something to do with wanting to avenge their fallen friends." The table fell silent for a moment.  
  
"You don't still believe that ridiculous story, do you?" Madame Pomfrey asked quietly, "I assure you, Headmaster, it is merely a myth…"  
  
"Well, Poppy, somehow I do not see it that way. According to what Professor Snape here has told me, Saria Evans was extremely upset when she heard of the death of Vincent…"  
  
"But that does not necessarily mean that they were lovers, Headmaster!" McGonagall interjected.  
  
"History has not verified this, I grant you that," Dumbledore said reasonably, "But I believe it to be true."  
  
"And what possible reason could you have for that?" Snape asked.  
  
"First, there is the actual history records. Where could they have been during the five-year gap in which they mysteriously disappeared? It is obvious, to me atleast, that they would not want the public knowing of their romance. Their children would, of course, be a bigger target than themselves for it is well known that we find our weaknesses in those that we love most. Anyone could have captured them and used them to blackmail Saria and Vincent."  
  
"Given that, surely there is another reason that you believe this ridiculous story?" Professor Sprout said incredulously.  
  
"Of course there is," Dumbledore said, staring at all of the teachers. "There is, of course, the nature of their supposed off-spring. As I'm sure you all know, I am speaking of Mr. Potter and Miss Ciccone." There was a slight pause.  
  
"And how do they make this tale more probable?" Professor Trelawny inquired.  
  
Dumbledore stared at the table for a moment, apparently thinking hard.  
  
"You are all aware," he said finally, "of Harry's mysterious past. It isn't known to anyone how he survived Voldemort's," several of the teachers cringed, "worst and most deadly curse. However, it is known that he was very special from an extremely young age. He has shown more bravery that any adult wizard in this world has ever possessed. And what is there to make of this Jessica? Haven't you asked yourselves what the possible reasons for her arrival could have been? She is obviously going to have a great role in the events that take place this year, although what those are, I cannot say…" He trailed off into silence.  
  
After a moment, Hagrid cleared his throat.  
  
"Er — Professor? In yer letter, yeh said somethin' abou' a very important matter that I had to be presen' to discuss."  
  
Dumbledore's expression darkened.  
  
"Indeed, Hagrid," he nodded gravely, "Infact, that is what I wrote in all of the letters of the teachers who are not made to attend usual meetings. The nature of this meeting is, however, very unusual." He paused for a moment, then reached inside his robes. "I have received this letter from the Minister of Magic," he said, pulling out a large white envelope, "I think it would be best if I just read it aloud for the whole table to hear." He cleared his throat and removed a piece of parchment from inside. He shook it open and cleared his throat. "It is addressed to Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: It has come to my attention that a mass attack on our elite group of Aurors has occurred on your premises. In my opinion, this is posing a rather high risk to all personnell and students that make use of your facilities. As a consequence, it is my unfortunate duty to inform you that, as of the end of this school year, we will shut down Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for however long we deem it necessary to ensure it's safety." Dumbledore looked at them all with a sad, hollow expression. "Which means, the Spring Ball will be the last dance this school will ever host, unless we find some way to fight the evil that threatens to engulf us."  
  
(A/N) I wrote this while I had music on, so if there are errors or if it sounds repetitive, please forgive me :D  
  
REVIEW PLEASE!!! 


	43. ~the teachers~

The portrait hole closed silently behind them, as a stunned Jessica and Harry sat down in front of the common room fire. It was a while before either of them spoke.  
  
"So," Jessica said finally, "What does that mean? They're closing the school?"  
  
Harry nodded. "I think so."  
  
"So, all bets are one us," Jessica said glumly. "If we don't do it, no one will."  
  
"Do what?" Harry asked bewildered.  
  
Jessica took a deep breath.  
  
"Save the school," she paused for a moment, "and our lives."  
  
  
  
The next few days at lessons, it was obvious that the teachers were doing their best to try and act normally. Of course, the only students that knew were Harry, Jessica, Amanda, and Ron. Professor McGonagall kept getting distracted in the middle of her lectures. Infact, right in the middle of giving the class instructions, she sighed a glanced out the window.  
  
"It's a lovely day isn't it?" she said quietly.  
  
Jessica and Amanda exchanged looks. Most of the class looked confused, glancing at Professor cautiously.  
  
Still looking out the window, she spoke again.  
  
"You never really appreciate something wonderful until you lose it. Do you know what I mean, students?" She looked back at them, although Jessica was pretty sure that was a rhetorical question. The class nodded mutely.  
  
Jessica swore she saw a tear roll down McGonagall's cheek, before she turned back to the board and began to write again.  
  
Even Snape's level of nastiness had gone down considerably. When Neville's potion exploded and sprayed the class with red foam, which caused them all to grow huge welts, Snape merely sighed, waved his wand and took ten points from Gryffindor, instead of the usual fifty. Apparently, more than a few people noticed the sudden and dramatic changes in the teachers.  
  
"I can't believe this!" Malfoy complained loudly as he, Crabbe and Goyle were making their way to the dining hall. "That idiot mutates half the class and Professor only takes away ten points! If I were the teacher I would have taken a hundred!"  
  
"Yes, well if you stay on the path you're currently on, you'll probably end up being the head of Slytherin house, anyway. So don't despair, your chance to terrorize innocent students will come soon enough," Jessica sneered as she and Amanda passed by. Harry and Ron had been kept after class by Snape, although Jessica wasn't sure why.  
  
Draco smirked. "Well look who it is," he said in his cold, taunting drawl, "Miss Muggle and her devoted sidekick, Miss…or shall I say, MRS. Weasel? Are you half as poor as their family? I mean, never mind his mother's weight. I wonder how they manage to keep her so well fed?"  
  
Amanda went red and looked down at the ground. Jessica, however, stopped in her tracks and turned to stare Malfoy down.  
  
"Shut your face, Malfoy," she growled.  
  
"No, I don't think I will," he smirked.  
  
"You aren't one to be talking about other people's families," Jessica continued coolly, choosing her words carefully.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Malfoy demanded, trying to sound defiant, but Jessica was sure his voice had faltered slightly.  
  
"I think you know perfectly well what we mean," came Amanda's voice. Jessica looked quickly over her shoulder. Amanda was standing with her hands on her hips, looking determined and as angry as Jessica had ever seen her.  
  
"It speaks!" Draco stumbled backward as Crabbe and Goyle laughed dimly.  
  
Jessica rolled her eyes. "Really?" she said in mock fascination. "You don't say? Come on Amanda, let's go," she said in disgust, turning away.  
  
"No," Amanda said quietly.  
  
"What?" Jessica asked bewildered.  
  
"Are you denying that there's something strange about your family?" Amanda asked softly, her gaze narrowing on Malfoy.  
  
His smirk fell slightly. "Leave my family alone," he hissed.  
  
"I wish I could," Amanda said, giving him a pointed look.  
  
For a moment, he looked confused. Then his eyes grew wide.  
  
"You..." he stuttered, "You…you…"  
  
"That's right," she said a little louder, "I know. Jessica knows. And if you don't watch your step, the entire school will know."  
  
Jessica had heard all that she could stand. She grabbed Amanda's arm and pulled her down the hallway, away from Malfoy who was reaching inside his robes for his wand. They skidded to a halt four corridors away.  
  
"What were you doing?" Jessica hissed, her hands on her knees, panting.  
  
"Oh, I don't know," Amanda moaned, covering her face. "I don't know what happened to me. I shouldn't have said anything! Now he knows that we know! It's just when he starting talking about Ron's family…I lost it."  
  
Jessica looked at her, exasperated.  
  
"I know."  
  
Amanda looked down at the ground.  
  
"Should we tell Harry and Ron?" she mumbled.  
  
Jessica thought for a moment. If they were to tell Ron, she knew he'd go after him, fist first.  
  
"Let's only tell Harry," she said after careful deliberation. She could just imagine Ron taking out one of the possible saviors of the magical world.  
  
  
  
(A/N) Please review!! 


	44. ~in times of Balls...~

"You did WHAT?"  
  
"Not me!" Jessica said, "Amanda."  
  
Harry shook his head. "I never thought she'd do something like go off on Malfoy."  
  
Jessica smiled. "She'll surprise you, alright."  
  
"Do you think Malfoy knows now?" Harry asked, growing tension in his voice. "I mean, do you think he knows that we know?"  
  
Jessica shrugged. "I don't think so…but, come to think of it, he did seem a little odd."  
  
Harry took a deep breath. "Let's just hope he doesn't suspect anything."  
  
"So what if he does?" Jessica said, suddenly angry. "It's not like he can do anything about it!"  
  
"You don't know Malfoy," Harry replied coolly.  
  
"Well maybe I don't," Jessica admitted, "But I do know that I hate him, and nothing he says or does will change that."  
  
She turned and raced into her room, slamming the door behind her, and leaving a very stunned Harry standing alone in the middle of the Common Room.  
  
  
  
Amanda closed the door silently behind herself.  
  
"Well?" she said the moment she entered.  
  
"Well what?" Jessica snapped.  
  
"Did you talk to Harry?" Amanda asked hurriedly.  
  
"Yes, I did," Jessica replied, glaring. "And I'd like to know where you were."  
  
Amanda suddenly turned crimson.  
  
"Sorry," she muttered, settling down on the end of her bed. "I was talking to Ron…"  
  
"You didn't tell him did you?" Jessica asked suspiciously.  
  
"No!" Amanda said firmly, "No, we were talking about the Ball."  
  
Jessica rolled her eyes.  
  
"Amanda, this is hardly the time to worry about some stupid Ball!"  
  
"Well, I know that!" she replied defensively. "But McGonagall did tell us to start making sure we had suitable outfits ready and…"  
  
"And that was more important than helping me?" Jessica asked angrily.  
  
Amanda looked hurt. "What's wrong with you today? Why are you so angry?"  
  
Jessica sighed and leaned back.  
  
"I don't know, Amanda. I just don't know. Everything is going wrong." She paused and took a deep breath. "And what about Hermione? When's she coming back? Maybe a better question would be, is she coming back at all?" She could feel the tears start to crack her voice, so she turned her eyes away from Amanda.  
  
"Of course she'll come back," Amanda replied softly.  
  
"You don't know that Amanda," Jessica said quietly, letting a few tears slip by. "No one does."  
  
Amanda stood up quite suddenly.  
  
"Well," she said briskly, "You can sit here and mope if you like, but I'm going to stay optimistic." With that, she stalked out of the room.  
  
Jessica closed her eyes and lay back against her pillow, thinking thoughts no one wanted to listen to.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ugh! I hate this! Stupid ball! Stupid dress!"  
  
Jessica sat bolt upright on her bed, jerked unpleasantly from her daydream about being back in Poland, Ohio.  
  
"What is it, Amanda?" she asked, groggily.  
  
Amanda stood three feet away from the dresser, glaring venomously.  
  
"You see what's happened! You put me in a bad mood too! And now this stupid thing won't give me a nice dress," she cried throwing her hands up.  
  
Jessica stretched her arms above her head, swinging her legs sideways off the bed.  
  
"What on Earth are you talking about?" she said, exhausted.  
  
"Just look," Amanda replied somewhat hysterically.  
  
Slowly, Jessica stood and shuffled her feet over to the dresser. The bright light was flooding out, a blue spaghetti-strap dress floating in its midst.  
  
"It's a dress," she said flatly.  
  
Amanda hurried over beside her. "I know!" she said, as though Jessica had realized what a massive injustice this was.  
  
Jessica looked back down at the dress. "So…what's the problem, again?" She asked, feeling her irritation rise slightly.  
  
Amanda reached down and pulled the dress out with a violent yank.  
  
"Well just look at it! It's all wrong! I wanted a red one, and I don't want spaghetti straps!" she cried, shaking it furiously in Jessica's face.  
  
Slightly alarmed, Jessica took the dress from her and calmly set it to the side. Looking at Amanda like she was crazy, she leaned over the drawer.  
  
"Red dress, long sleeve," she whispered, terrified Amanda would crack and go insane.  
  
Instantly, a long red dress with long sleeves appeared in the middle of the light. Amanda looked startled as she reached in and pulled it out.  
  
"Perfect! See what can happen when you change your attitude a little bit?" she exclaimed, hugging Jessica as hard as she could.  
  
Smiling through what she was sure was a cracked rib, Jessica nodded and picked up the blue dress off the bed.  
  
"Hmmm…" she said, turning it over in her hands. "Well, there's no sense in letting this one go to waste," she concluded, picking her wand up off of the dresser.  
  
"What are you going to do to it?" Amanda said, now hurrying around, trying to find an acceptable pair of shoes.  
  
"I'm just going to make a few alterations," Jessica muttered, holding the dress up again.  
  
  
  
"Harry!"  
  
Harry's eyes snapped open in time to see a dark suit come down on his face.  
  
"Are you awake or what?" Ron laughed.  
  
Harry sighed and flung the suit to the other side of the bed.  
  
"Yeah," he replied, "I've just been thinking."  
  
"Bout what?" Ron asked, holding up his own suit and examining it.  
  
"The Aurors. Hermione. Jessica. The teachers. The school. Everything," he said, staring up at the top of his hangings.  
  
"Don't worry about those things," Ron said quickly, "I heard the teachers talking, and McGonagall said they might have a lead as to where Hermione is."  
  
"I guess," Harry said, still uneasy.  
  
"Look at this," Ron said in disgust.  
  
Harry propped himself up on his elbows.  
  
"Looks like a suit to me."  
  
"It's so ugly!" Ron said in wonder, turning it over in his hands. "And muggles actually wear these things to formal events? All the time?!"  
  
Harry laughed at his friend's indignation.  
  
"Yea, and just imagine, you're only wearing it for one night," he said, feeling slightly better.  
  
"I wonder if Mum and Dad are coming," Ron said, tossing the suit aside. "I tried to write them, but they never replied." He shrugged. "I guess they're just busy or something, besides, Pig isn't all that reliable."  
  
Harry's stomach churned slightly. No reply from Ron's parents? That was odd. Certainly they had always answered his previous letters?  
  
"So who are you going with?" Ron asked, bringing Harry back to his senses.  
  
He shrugged. "I don't know yet."  
  
Ron looked incredulous. "You only have a week, Harry. If you don't hurry, all the pretty girls will be taken."  
  
"I know," Harry sighed. The truth was he hadn't thought about the dance much at all. Last year, he had been forced to because of the tournament, but this year was different. And although he would never have said it, he would have been more than happy to stay in his dorm during the dance, except for a small but constant feeling deep in the pit of his stomach that said that he should go. He had not yet been able to place the cause of this feeling, but it was always there, always gnawing at the back of his thoughts.  
  
Ron thought hard for a moment. "How about Ginny? You know she likes you."  
  
Harry looked down. "I guess I could ask her," he shrugged.  
  
"You might as well," Ron replied, "All of the older girls probably have dates by now."  
  
"You're right," Harry said, standing up, "I'll just go ask her now."  
  
"Right. I mean afterall, you might have some competition with Neville," he laughed.  
  
Harry managed a weak smile, then left the dorm room quickly and headed for the library, where he had seen Ginny studying.  
  
  
  
(A/N) This chapter took FOREVER to be posted! LoL sorry guys! Don't hate me! It's been a rough time! But I promise to try and have the updates coming sooner! Now that I got all the stupid crap out of the way, I have a pretty clear schedule till August, so don't despair! Also, sorry if you guys don't like the idea of the Ball, I just have to start including it or this story is NEVER going to end lol, well that's all. And I absolutely am NOT digging this whole H/G thing with the Ball, but it's gotta be done. (gives a brave nod) well, that's all for now! Please review and don't be *too* critical, k? lol  
  
Reviews make me a happy camper, but flames make me the bear that attacks and eats the campers. 0:) 


	45. ~an invitation~

Harry stopped outside the door to the library, hesitating for a moment. Did he really want to go to the Ball with Ginny? Maybe not, but it would be nice to go with a friend, he decided.  
  
He took a deep breath, and slid the door open. Harry barely had to glance around at all until he saw Ginny's bright red hair barely visible over a pile of books. With a wave of relief, he saw that she was alone.  
  
"Ginny!" he called as quietly as he could, looking over at Madame Pince who was sitting at her desk, leering unpleasantly at a couple that were sitting at a nearby. Ginny's head picked up slightly, and Harry watched as she pushed aside the top five books on the stack.  
  
Her eyes grew wide as she saw who was calling her. She stood up quickly, nearly upsetting all of her work. Catching herself, she took a deep breath and walked over to the doors.  
  
"Hi, Harry," she said somewhat breathlessly.  
  
"Hi," he replied, still watching Madame Pince. She rose from her seat and approached the couple, who were now talking softly. Ginny saw where he was looking.  
  
"Looks like trouble," she said softly.  
  
"Maybe we should talk outside," Harry offered.  
  
Ginny glanced back at her table, biting her lip. Harry was stunned at how reluctant she seemed.  
  
"Alright," she sighed, "I can leave for a moment, I suppose."  
  
Perhaps she caught the odd look Harry was giving her, because the moment they were outside in the corridor, she launched into an explanation.  
  
"I'm sorry," Ginny said. "I've just been so busy with homework that I haven't had any time for anything else. Infact, I was just now doing my Arithmancy homework. Oh, it's awful. You wouldn't believe how many runes and translations there are!"  
  
"Why don't you just drop it then?" Harry asked incredulously.  
  
Ginny's eyes grew wide. "I couldn't do that! I mean," she looked down at the ground, shuffling her feet guiltily, "everyone thinks Ron has it bad, trying to live up to his brothers…but I have to live up to all of them. Plus, I'm the only girl in the family. If I don't do as well as the others, my mother will be very disappointed."  
  
Harry was stunned. He hadn't thought about what Ginny had to live up to. Not many students were brave enough to take Arithmancy their fourth year. Come to think of it, Hermione was the only one he knew that had. Harry suddenly felt an agonized pang. Hermione…  
  
They were silent for a moment.  
  
"I'm sorry," Harry said finally, still not sure of what to say to her.  
  
Ginny waved away his apology. "Don't be sorry for me," she sighed. "It's just something I have to do." They fell silent again.  
  
"Oh!" Ginny exclaimed suddenly, putting her hand on her cheek. "I got so carried away with complaining that I forgot that you had to talk to me. What is it that you wanted, Harry?"  
  
Harry stared at her. What did he want?  
  
"I…er…"  
  
Ginny glanced down at her watch.  
  
"Oh no," she gasped, "I have to get back to work! I'm so far behind my schedule!" She looked back at Harry. "Well I don't know what you wanted with me, but as long as you're here, I might as well ask. Harry, do you want to go to the Spring Ball with me? That is, if you don't already have a date."  
  
Harry was stunned. Not only was that what he had meant to ask her, but she had asked so calmly and professionally that he could barely believe that this was the same girl who had once put her elbow in the butter dish just from looking at him. This was certainly a different Ginny from the one he remembered.  
  
"Sure," he managed to say.  
  
"Great," Ginny smiled. "Mum already sent me a dress."  
  
Harry nodded. "Yea, she sent me a dress too." He paused a moment as Ginny tried hard not to laugh. "Oh! I mean a suit! She sent me a suit," he corrected himself, going red.  
  
Ginny grinned. "Sure, Harry. Well, either way, I'll meet you in the Common Room at eight o'clock Friday, ok?"  
  
Harry nodded, still rather embarrassed.  
  
With a final smile, Ginny turned and disappeared into the library.  
  
Harry turned to walk back to the Common Room, shaking his head. He caught his reflection in a suit of armor and was surprised to see that he was smiling.  
  
  
  
The days until the dance seemed to crawl by. Jessica had finally gathered the courage to tell Amanda who had asked her to the Ball. Amanda, though obviously shocked, thought it was great news, but she hadn't been to keen on telling Ron and Harry.  
  
"Just wait till the night of the Ball," she shrugged, "Make it a surprise."  
  
Jessica smiled. They had seen enough 'surprises' this year to last her a lifetime.  
  
More than once, Jessica had caught Seamus looking at her. Amanda said that she should take it as a compliment, but the truth was, it made her uncomfortable. There was something wrong about the way he stared. It was actually more of a glare.  
  
Two days before the dance, while Jessica and Amanda were working at the same table in Potions, Amanda accidentally knocked Jessica's container of newt eyes over. Both of them jumped back as it fell to the floor, sending eyes flying in all directions.  
  
"I am so sorry!" Amanda cried, bending down to scoop some up.  
  
"Don't worry about it," Jessica said, picking up her wand. She waved it at the mess, and instantly, all the eyes flew back into the bottle. She was replacing the cork when Seamus passed by.  
  
"Nice one," he sneered at Amanda.  
  
Amanda looked hurt. "It was just an accident."  
  
He looked over at Dean who grinned back. Jessica didn't trust the way he was grinning. It was almost malicious. She didn't take her eyes off either of them until they reached their cabinets on the other side of the room.  
  
Amanda had seen her. "What's up?" she asked, now shoveling her own items into her supply bag.  
  
"Did they seem strange to you?" Jessica said, dropping her voice to a whisper.  
  
Amanda glanced over her shoulder at them. She shrugged. "They never liked me much, I don't think. It doesn't really surprise me."  
  
Jessica shook her head, still staring after them.  
  
"But why would they like me then?" she wondered aloud.  
  
"Jess!" Amanda scolded, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "You're reading too much into this! They're boys! It's their job to be jerks! You just have a bad case of the pre-Ball jitters."  
  
"I guess," Jessica said, her eyes narrowing as Seamus turned around and smiled that odd smile at her.  
  
The bell rang to signal the end of class. Amanda snapped her fingers under Jessica's nose.  
  
"Hello?" she said loudly, "Are we going to lunch today or not?"  
  
Jessica sighed and nodded, pushing her potions ingredients back into her black satchel.  
  
(A/N) Ya, I had nothing to do and I have possibly the WORST headache of my young life, so I decided to write this. Fun, hmm? Well, here it is. You know the drill. Review me and I'll love you!!!!! Flame me and I'll see you in Hell!!! :] 


	46. ~the er...dress~

Thursday came and went without anything extraordinary happening. Jessica was growing more uneasy as the Ball approached, but her classmates couldn't have been more excited. That is, except for Ginny.  
  
"You're wearing THAT?"  
  
"What's wrong with it?"  
  
"It's hideous!"  
  
Slightly annoyed at the disruption, Jessica glanced up from her Transfiguration book, which lay open on her lap. The argument between these people was the only sound in the Common Room apart from the wind beating on the windows. As she looked around disapprovingly, she was shocked to discover the speakers were Ginny and Lavender.  
  
Ginny was sitting in one of the big armchairs on the other side of the room, opposite a disgusted looking Lavender. Just then, Jessica noticed something that looked like a curtain clutched in Ginny's hands.  
  
"What do you mean it's hideous?" Ginny repeated, astounded.  
  
"Look at it!" Lavender said, holding it up. Jessica, though she felt bad for Ginny, could kind of see Lavender's point. What she supposed was a dress, was faded gray, had large puffy shoulders, hung roughly to the floor, and the hem on the bottom was frayed and ripped. As Jessica stared, Ginny snatched it back.  
  
"I can fix it," she muttered, going very red.  
  
"Well you'd better! I don't know who your date is, but I can't imagine he'd be very pleased to go with a someone that looked like a dish rag!"  
  
Ginny looked down, playing with the dull fabric.  
  
"Well?" Lavender demanded.  
  
Ginny looked up, puzzled. "Well what?"  
  
"Well, who are you going with?"  
  
"Oh," Ginny muttered, going red again, "Harry Potter."  
  
Lavender's jaw dropped. "You? You're going with Harry Potter?"  
  
Ginny nodded, somewhat cautiously.  
  
"But…but I thought everyone was saying he was going to ask Parvati again?"  
  
Ginny shrugged. "I hadn't heard that."  
  
Lavender stood up very quickly. "I have to go finish my homework," she said loftily. "If I were you, I'd make some serious adjustments to that dress or you're going to embarrass the entire school." And with that, she stalked off.  
  
Jessica hadn't realized she'd been staring the entire time, but as she watched, Ginny put her head in her hands, obviously crying. She snapped her book shut and hurried over to her.  
  
"Hi Ginny," she said quietly, sitting down in Lavender's vacant chair. Ginny sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes furiously.  
  
"Sorry," she murmured. "I hadn't realized there was someone else in here."  
  
"Don't be sorry," Jessica corrected. "It's be Lavender who's sorry. A sorry excuse for a friend, I mean."  
  
Ginny smiled weakly.  
  
Jessica paused a moment, wondering what to say.  
  
"So you're going with Harry then, are you?" she blurted. The words had fallen out of her mouth before she had the chance to consider them, and she instantly regretted saying them.  
  
Ginny sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think I will," she say, drawing a shuddering breath, "He deserves better than me."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous!" Jessica scoffed. "Lavender's just angry that he's not going with Parvati. Amanda overheard them a few nights ago, talking about how they would embarrass Harry at the Ball to get him back for ditching Parvati at the last one."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Jessica nodded.  
  
"But still," Ginny said, holding up her dress. "What am I going to do about…this?" she said with utter disdain.  
  
Jessica bit her lip. "Well, I think I may have an idea…"  
  
  
  
(A/N) Well, here it is. Review please!!!! and don't worry, the ending is close in sight (bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha) 


	47. ~matoria disintegrate~

In Harry's opinion, the seventh of May couldn't have come any faster. Before he knew it, he and Ron were up in their room, rummaging through their trunks to find the suits Mrs. Weasley had sent. It seemed so long ago that they had sat here, debating whether or not Harry should ask Ginny to the Ball.  
  
"Oh where could it be?"  
  
Harry lifted his head, the pants of his suit clutched in his hand.  
  
"What's that Neville?" he asked.  
  
"My suit," Neville moaned, frantically digging through his clothes. "It's gone! I could have sworn it was right here!"  
  
Ron straightened up, dusting off the pepper gray suit he was holding.  
  
"I still say these are the ugliest things I've ever seen," he said, scratching his head in dismay.  
  
"Here, Neville. Let me help you," Harry said, tossing his suit pants on the bed.  
  
He hadn't gone more than two paces when the door was flung open and in sauntered Seamus and Dean.  
  
"Hullo," Harry said, kicking aside some of Neville's clothes which had fallen to the floor. "Neither of you have seen Neville's suit have you?"  
  
Dean grinned at Seamus who smiled.  
  
"No, we haven't seen it anywhere," he said coolly, striding over to his own trunk.  
  
"What am I going to do?" Neville cried, covering his face with his hands.  
  
Seamus popped open the lid of his trunk.  
  
"Here," he said nonchalantly, "You can wear this. Mum sent an extra incase mine didn't match my date's dress." He tossed Neville a relatively new looking black suit.  
  
Neville caught it, looking stunned.  
  
"You sure?" he squeaked.  
  
Seamus nodded, grinning. "It's all yours. It should be just about your size, too."  
  
"Thank you!" Neville cried. With that, he began to frantically pile all of his clothes back into his trunk.  
  
Harry watched Seamus for a moment, wondering what had sparked the sudden generosity. Seamus had never really come off as someone who liked Neville. Sure, he had always been a nice guy, but he didn't seem to have enough patience to handle Neville's antics.  
  
"Not wearing that are you?" Ron's laughter brought Harry back from his daydream.  
  
"No," he muttered, going red. "I just can't find the top half of my suit."  
  
"Well, I'll help you look," Ron offered, climbing over the bed. "I'm not too eager to put that thing on anyway," he added in an undertone to Harry, who grinned and shook his head.  
  
Within ten minutes, they had been through his entire clothing supply twice, and the other boys had gone down to the Common Room to talk with the others.  
  
"I don't get it," Harry said, scratching his head. "It was right here. I'm sure of it."  
  
Ron glanced at his watch. "It's almost time," he said nervously. "I don't know what you're going to do, but whatever it is, you'd better do it fast."  
  
Harry looked around desperately. He didn't have anything that he could substitute in place of his suit shirt and jacket.  
  
"Wait a minute," Ron said suddenly. "What's that?"  
  
The edge of something black was sticking out from under Seamus' bed.  
  
"I dunno," Harry said. He jumped over his bed and pulled it out carefully. Once it was exposed entirely, he held it up for Ron to see.  
  
"What the…"  
  
"Is this?"  
  
"But I thought…"  
  
They stopped dead and looked at eachother. Harry had in his hands none other than Neville's suit.  
  
"They said they didn't see it," Ron said, yanking it out of his grasp and examining it.  
  
"Ya," Harry replied, "But…why?"  
  
Ron shrugged. "Maybe he didn't realize it was there. You know how Neville is, he puts things everywhere and then forgets about them."  
  
Harry nodded. "I guess."  
  
"Er, maybe we should just check it out, right?" Ron said after a moment.  
  
Harry nodded. "Right."  
  
Ron got down on all fours and stuck his hands underneath the bed. A second later he emerged, holding the top half of Harry's suit.  
  
"Great!" Harry said, grabbing it. "You found my suit!" But Ron didn't look overjoyed.  
  
"Hang on a minute," he said, one arm still under the bed. "There's still something under here."  
  
He felt around for a moment before his hand came out once more, this time there was a small black gadget clutched in his fist.  
  
He slouched comfortably into a sitting position.  
  
"What is that thing?" Harry said, leaning closer.  
  
Ron looked pale. "If it's what I think it is, it's not good."  
  
"What, Ron? What is it?" Harry asked. Even a closer look at the object revealed nothing spectacular. To Harry, it looked merely like a small, black jewelry box.  
  
"Dad had a big mess going on with these a few years back," Ron said, turning the object over in his hands. "Muggles thought it was a box for a ring or a necklace or something. It's not," he said quietly.  
  
"What's it do?" Harry asked, dreading the answer.  
  
Ron took a deep breath. "It's called a matoria disintegrate. I guess that was the latin name for it or something. Anyway, a long time ago, there was this evil wizard that wanted to kill every single Muggle alive, so he created this." He stretched out his palm, the black box balanced in the middle. "Whenever someone opens it," he paused, "they disintegrate. There's no trace of them left behind whatsoever. No one ever knows what happens to them." He looked at Harry. "And there's one sure way to tell if this is really what I think it is." He stretched his hand out to Harry  
  
Harry took it from him, looking very closely. Suddenly, brighter than lightning, an inscription appeared on the bottom.  
  
Ron scrambled up beside him. "Oh no," he whispered. "It is. It really is a matoria disintegrate!"  
  
Harry looked at Ron.  
  
"What do we do now?"  
  
  
  
(A/N) The suspense! Ack! Review and I will try to post soon….perhaps.. ) 


	48. ~the start of the Ball~

"You ready?" Amanda said breathlessly  
  
Jessica gave her a half smile. "Ready as I'll never be," she shrugged.  
  
Amanda gave her an exasperated look. "Don't be like that, Jess. You're going to have fun tonight. I'll make you have fun tonight." She waved her fist threateningly.  
  
"Uh huh," Jessica said, turning back to face the mirror. "Sure thing, Amanda. Whatever you say."  
  
She considered her reflection for a moment, trying to think of what could be missing. She twirled her dress slightly, the tiny sequences shimmering in the candlelight. Rather than mess around with trying to get the perfect dress, she took the one that Amanda hadn't wanted. The only thing wrong with it in her opinion was that it wasn't sparkly. Consequently, she went to the library and checked out different books on how to charm clothes. Once she had started to fix the dress, she found it quite impossible to stop. As soon as she fixed one thing, another seemed wrong or out of place. Now, she stood before her mirror wearing a floor length blue silk dress which was covered in glittery sequence. She had removed the straps completely after finding that it was impossible to get them to look right. Her hair was drawn back into a curly bun, with a few stray curls left to hang down, framing her face. In her opinion, she looked like a wanna-be Tinkerbell, but Amanda said she looked like a princess.  
  
She turned around to face Amanda, stumbling slightly. She couldn't remember the last time she had been made to wear heels. Infact, she hadn't wanted to wear them to the Ball, but Amanda had insisted.  
  
"What's wrong?" she said, frowning slightly. "What am I missing, Amanda?"  
  
Amanda, who had been putting her earrings in, turned to face her.  
  
"Hmm…" she said, walking around Jessica, inspecting the dress. Suddenly, she straightened up and clapped her hands. "I know!" She hurried over to the dresser while Jessica stood there, somewhat frightened about what she might bring back. Amanda returned a moment later, grinning. As Jessica watched, she went around behind her and clasped something around the back of her neck.  
  
Jessica looked down as a small charm on a thin silver chain came down gently on her. For a moment, she felt her heart race. She had almost completely forgotten about her scar. And now, looking at it, she saw that it was almost gone.  
  
Amanda, who hadn't noticed came around her front, grinning broadly.  
  
"Perfect!" she exclaimed. Then she saw the look on Jessica's face. "What's wrong, Jess? Why do you look so pale?"  
  
"Nothing, no reason," she took a deep breath. "Just nervous I guess," she said, shrugging.  
  
"Don't be," Amanda chided.  
  
"Easy for you to say," Jessica scoffed. "You look great."  
  
It was true. Amanda had finally gotten the right dress…plus a few extra spells that Jessica had learned. She, too, was wearing a floor length dress, but hers was a deep red. Jessica had insisted on making the sleeves into spaghetti strap, and putting atleast a little glitter on it. Amanda wasn't too nuts about the glitter, but agreed to fix the sleeves. When Jessica stood back to examine the dress for the first time, she was shocked at how plain it looked. To solve this, Amanda had conjured up two elbow length, pearly white gloves, which matched the cream colored beads that were set along the bottom and top hem of the dress. She wore her hair down, a variety of sparkly clips pinned throughout it.  
  
"Stop it," she snapped. "You know that's not true. You look way better than me."  
  
Jessica sighed. "Fine," she relented. "Let's just say that we both look hideous. Ok?"  
  
Amanda nodded. "Right."  
  
Two soft knocks on the door announced the arrival of her date.  
  
Jessica turned toward the door, holding her breath.  
  
"Now or never," she muttered more to herself than Amanda.  
  
"Let's go," Amanda said, beckoning toward Jessica, who followed reluctantly, a very strong sense of unease settling firmly in her stomach.  
  
  
  
Harry and Ron came thundering down the boys' staircase, Ron still attempting to button his coat properly and Harry fixing his hair. Harry stood in shock as they entered the Common Room. It was like someone had set off an explosion of color. He hadn't even seen such a variety of colors at last year's Yule Ball. All around him were dresses of bright pink and purple with enough ruffles to fill the entire castle. He was fairly sure that he had even seen one of the boys wearing a powder blue tuxedo. Glancing around, it became very apparent which of the students had come from Muggle heritage. For the most part, the outfits were normal. Nothing other than what you might find at a formal dance in high school, but here and there was a suit or dress so outrageous that Harry could only wonder where their parents might have found it.  
  
A group of third years he had never spoken to before were sitting in the far corner, talking quietly. Two of them were dressed in perfectly normal muggle dresses. One was purple, the other green. However, the girl that was sitting adjacent to them was wearing a bright pink dress, complete with puffy shoulders and a large quantity of lace. One her head was a tall pointed hat with a yard of silk ribbon hanging from the peak. It was quite obvious to him that her parents had mistaken a princess costume for a woman's dress, but she seemed oblivious to this.  
  
Ron nudged Harry hard in the ribs, and nodded toward the opposite end of the room. Seamus was rising from a chair, swaggering across the Common Room. Ron watched him with narrowed eyes as he passed in front of them.  
  
Suddenly, Harry realized where he was headed.  
  
"Ron!" he muttered. "Look!"  
  
Seamus had stopped in front of Jessica and Amanda's door, glancing down at his watch. He knocked twice, and stood back as the door slid open. Harry's breath caught in his throat as he watched Jessica emerge and Seamus take her by the hand. Amanda stood in the doorway, looking around the Common Room, then she spotted Ron and Harry. She hurried over to them, picking her dress up slightly to prevent tripping on it.  
  
"Hi!" she said brightly.  
  
Ron turned as red as his hair. "Hi," he replied, grinning.  
  
Harry stared after Seamus, who was leading Jessica out the portrait hole.  
  
"What are they doing?" he asked Amanda curiously.  
  
"Who?" Amanda whipped around. "Oh, Jess and Seamus. Um, well," she looked down, shuffling her feet guiltily. "Well, he asked her to the Ball a while ago…and she accepted. We were going to tell you," she added hastily, seeing their expressions, "but I told her it'd be better as a surprise."  
  
Ron looked at Harry, eyebrows raised.  
  
"Well. It's a surprise alright."  
  
"Hey Harry!"  
  
Harry spun around to see Ginny standing behind him, looking stunning in a pale lavender dress.  
  
"Ginny?" he said breathlessly.  
  
She nodded happily. "You look great Harry!"  
  
Harry smiled sheepishly.  
  
"That's not the dress mum sent you, Ginny," Ron said incredulously.  
  
"Yes it is," she beamed. "Jess helped me fix it up."  
  
Harry stared at her, hardly believing that it was truly Ginny Weasley standing before him.  
  
"You look…er…pretty," he stuttered, "I mean, very pretty. Really pretty."  
  
Ginny laughed. "Thanks, Harry." She beamed around at Ron and Amanda, who both looked like they'd just been told Snape wanted to adopt Harry. "Well, are you guys ready to go down?"  
  
Harry glanced at Ron who returned the look.  
  
"Why don't you girls go down without us? We just realized we forgot something," Ron said with a forced smile.  
  
Amanda looked suspicious. "You both forgot the same thing? And you both realized it at the same time?"  
  
Ginny, too, looked inquisitive now.  
  
"Ya," Harry said hastily, "Um, it's er…pretty important."  
  
Amanda stared at them a moment longer, the shrugged.  
  
"Alright," she sighed. "Just try to be quick. Come on, Ginny." And with that, they headed toward the portrait hole, Ginny still glancing over her shoulder at Harry as though she knew there was something he wasn't telling her. He waved apologetically and held up one finger to show that he'd just be a minute.  
  
"Phew," Ron said, watching them retreat. "Put up quite a fight, don't they?"  
  
"Ron," Harry said, turning to him. "What are we going to do about Seamus?"  
  
Ron bit his lip. "I don't know."  
  
Neither of them spoke for a moment.  
  
"You don't think," Harry began slowly, "You don't think that he's going to try and use that…that thing on Jess, do you?"  
  
Ron paled.  
  
"I think we should get Jess away from him as soon as possible," he muttered, looking around to make sure no one could overhear him.  
  
"He has been acting really strange lately," Harry agreed, "Alright then. As soon as we can get her away, we do it."  
  
Ron nodded and together they left to catch up with Ginny and Amanda.  
  
  
  
(A/N) This chapter is sorta stupid, but hey. I wrote most of it during math class .] so review and bear with me here, I know it sucked! 


	49. ~reapearance of Faith~

The corridors were lit with flowery smelling candles, which hovered above their heads, apparently doing some routine floating.  
  
Jessica took a deep breath and glanced down. Why is he holding my hand? She wondered, absolutely perplexed. To her right, Seamus sighed.  
  
"We're going to have fun," he said, almost as though it was a command.  
  
She nodded, looking down at her hand, whose knuckles had now turned white from being squeezed so hard.  
  
"Well?" he said, almost impatiently  
  
"Well what?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"Are we going to have fun or not?"  
  
"Oh," she said, taken aback. "Sure. I mean, yes. Yes, we'll have fun."  
  
He nodded. "Right." He gave her hand an extra squeeze. She winced as shooting pains traveled up her arm and wrist. "Right," he repeated.  
  
Deciding that it had gone far enough, she wrenched her hand from his grasp. However, the moment their connection was broken, her scar stung like white-hot fire. She gasped and put her hand over it, feeling it burn slightly under her fingers. As suddenly as it had begun, it ended.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked, looking at her.  
  
"Nothing," she said, hand still on her throat, and utterly bewildered. "I just had to fix my hair," she said hastily, pulling a small mirror out of her handbag and pretending to busy herself with it.  
  
Seamus shrugged and jammed his hands into his pockets.  
  
"Hey look, there's Dean," he pointed to the far end of the hallway. Jessica glanced at him. There was a girl's bathroom right behind where he was standing.  
  
"You go ahead, Seamus," she said, shutting her compact with a snap, "I'll catch up. I just want to use the restroom before we go outside."  
  
Seamus looked at her carefully.  
  
"Alright," he said uncertainly. "But I'll wait right in front of the doors for you, ok?"  
  
Jessica nodded. "Ok," she said with what she hoped was a cheerful smile.  
  
He returned a half smile and headed down the hall towards Dean and his date, Lavender.  
  
Jessica stood and watched them disappear. Soon, the hallway was devoid of any students and she could hear the passages below her rumbling with talk as everyone made their way outside. She turned and headed into the bathroom quickly, locking the door behind her.  
  
  
  
"Any ideas what that was all about, Ginny?" Amanda sighed, playing with her gloves.  
  
Ginny shook her head. "You know, I've lived with Ron all my life and I've known Harry for going on four years, and I still haven't figured them out."  
  
Amanda smiled wryly. "If I were you, I'd have given up a long time ago."  
  
There was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps behind them. They turned around in time to see Pansy Parkinson flying past them.  
  
"Oh, move out of the way!" she snapped, shoving Ginny aside  
  
Ginny glared after her. "Nice to see you too," she muttered after Pansy's retreating back.  
  
Amanda snorted. "Forget about her."  
  
They walked for a while in silence.  
  
"I hate people like that," Ginny said suddenly.  
  
"People like what?" Ron asked.  
  
He and Harry had just skidded to a halt beside them, Harry trying to pat down his hair even though he knew it was hopeless.  
  
"People like you," Ginny said, looking at him.  
  
They all laughed.  
  
"Hey what's that up ahead?" Amanda said suddenly, pointing.  
  
Jessica had just emerged from the bathroom, casting a suspicious glance around the hallway. Then, quite suddenly, she turned and started down the corridor.  
  
"Jess!" Amanda called, "Wait up!"  
  
But she didn't seem to hear her, she just kept running.  
  
Ginny looked at Amanda with raised eyebrows.  
  
"Probably didn't hear me," she said offhandedly, 'We'll just catch her outside."  
  
Harry and Ron exchanged looks.  
  
  
  
Jessica burst out the front doors, starting down the sloping lawns. Dumbledore hadn't been kidding; there WERE a lot of older people there. Although she didn't know how, she recognized Oliver Wood standing by the refreshment table, talking animatedly with Katie Bell who was looking fascinated. She moved to turn around when she collided very hard with someone who had been standing behind her.  
  
"Mr. Weasley!" she said upon seeing who it was.  
  
He looked at her inquisitively. "And who might you be?" he asked.  
  
"Oh," she said, quickly catching her mistake. "I'm Jessica. I know Ron," she added hastily, seeing his expression.  
  
"Right," he said slowly, looking her up and down. "You must be that …girl. You know. You're the one who appeared out of nowhere…"  
  
She nodded. "Yes, I suppose so."  
  
"Well," he said, not smiling. "I'll see you later." And with that he walked away, robes billowing out behind him.  
  
Jessica stood frozen, staring after him. The books had always made him seem so kind, why was he so mean just now? And where was Mrs. Weasley?  
  
"There you are!"  
  
Jessica wheeled around to see Seamus walking towards her.  
  
"Thought I'd never see you again," he said playfully.  
  
She smiled, resisting the urge to say 'If only…'  
  
He led her over to Dean and Lavender, who were standing by the dance floor, looking apprehensive.  
  
"Why aren't you dancing?" Jessica asked as they reached them.  
  
Dean looked at her. "Why aren't you dancing?"  
  
Jessica raised an eyebrow.  
  
"The minister of magic is out there!" Lavender squealed, pointing. And indeed, it was true. He was standing along one of the tables, staring out at the dance floor. Jessica noted the tip of his wand poking up from his pocket.  
  
"So?" Seamus said. "Come on, Jess. Let's show them."  
  
Before she had time to object, he had pulled her onto the dance floor that had been set up for the occasion. She stood, letting Seamus lead, staring around the grounds. There were hundreds of people there, talking in small groups. Her eyes fell on a far off table. Draco Malfoy was sitting around it, along with Crabbe and Goyle. She had to stifle a laugh. Draco was wearing a putrid red tuxedo that made him look like a moldy strawberry, and Crabbe and Goyle were both wearing identical purple suits, complete with frilly ascots. She wondered if perhaps their constant matching was an indication of something.  
  
As she watched, a girl with blinding blonde hair approached the table and sat in the empty seat next to Malfoy. The song ended. Seamus and the rest of the crowd turned to applaud, but Jessica stood rooted to the spot, staring at the girl. Was it her imagination, or was that Faith? But it couldn't be…she'd been taken out of Hogwarts a long time ago…  
  
"Want to go again?" Seamus asked, bringing her back to reality.  
  
"No," she said firmly. "No, I'd rather sit down."  
  
"Alright," he said, disappointment in his voice. "Well that's okay," he said suddenly. "I have something to show you anyway."  
  
He led her over to the quidditch stands, winking at Dean as they went by. He sat her down and reached inside his pocket. She looked over his shoulder at Malfoy's table where Faith was still sitting. It most certainly had to be her. Her high pitched giggle rang across the grounds, and Jessica could recognize her hair flip from even this distance.  
  
"Oh no!" Seamus said suddenly, making her start. "I must've left it up in the dormitory."  
  
"You can go ahead and get it, if you'd like," she replied distractedly, still staring at Faith.  
  
Seams watched her uncertainly. "Alright," he said finally, "But don't go anywhere."  
  
"Sure thing," she muttered.  
  
  
  
(A/N) This chapter….I don't know, I just didn't like it for some reason lol! But here it is. More soon! School is out in 8 days, so hang with me here! This should be over within the next 5 or so chapters so stop whining that its too long! LoL …hey jenn! You're back! Lmao (you guys don't know this, but I asked around my friends to see if they wanted to be in my story. Amanda –who's one of my real life best-friends- said she did, and so did my other friend, Jenn. But she didn't want her name to be Jenn, she wanted Faith. So there ya go lol my characters are modeled after real life people …except Jenn isn't evil …lol ….i think :] ) PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! 


	50. no one cares about the titles anymore

"Wow," Amanda breathed as they stepped through the great oak doors.  
Indeed, Harry thought, 'wow' was the only word to describe their surroundings. A large wooden dance floor had been set up where the Quidditch field normally stood, and at the moment, it was covered with happy couples, dancing to what sounded like the Weird Sisters. Apparently, Dumbledore had been able to book them again. Several fairies zoomed above their heads, chattering in high-pitched voices and giving off occasional bursts of colored sparks. The Great Lake's surface was glittering in the starlight; Rose bushes and other flowers had been planted along its shore. Ginny stared around at the decorations and the hundreds of guests.  
"This is a thousand times better than the Yule Ball!" she exclaimed after some time.  
Harry nodded. However, he was unable to stop his eyes from wandering over to the Forbidden Forest. As he watched the tall, dark trees sway ominously, a knot of dread grew in the pit of his stomach. Somewhere in that forest were the six Aurors. What were they doing? He wondered if perhaps Dumbledore hadn't moved them because of the impending danger.   
"What is she doing?" Amanda said suddenly, pointing across the grounds.  
Harry turned to look, and felt his heart jump into his throat.  
Jessica was edging her way slowly across the grounds, moving almost mechanically. Amanda gasped.  
"What is it?" Ron asked.  
"Look!" she said, nodding in the direction that Jessica was headed.  
Harry and Ron recognized the girl at once. Faith. She and Malfoy were approaching the dance floor. Crabbe and Goyle sat alone at the table behind them, looking surly.  
"What is she doing back here?" Ron hissed frantically.  
"I thought she was gone!" Amanda said, bringing her hands to her face.  
Ginny looked around at the three of them.  
"Who is she?"  
Ron waved his hand. "Nevermind. She's just a girl we know."  
"Wish we didn't..." Harry muttered.  
"Shut up," Amanda hissed, elbowing him in the ribs.  
"Harry," Ginny said softly, putting her hand on his arm, "who is that girl?"  
"She's bad news, Ginny," Harry said, shaking his head. "Come on, we've got to get Jess," he said, turning to Amanda and Ron.  
Ginny looked at Ron.  
"You're loud," she said. Ron went pink. "See if you can get her to hear you."  
Ron, looking somewhat reluctant, cupped his hands to his mouth.  
"Jess!" he bellowed, causing several fairies above them to shriek in unison and scatter in all different directions.  
Jessica stumbled to a halt and froze. She didn't turn toward them. She stood like a statue, facing straight ahead. Then, as though an invisible hand had pushed her, she flung forward, most unnaturally, and continued toward Faith at an even faster pace.  
"Did you see that?" Amanda cried. "Did you see? Oh, we've got to help her!"  
Her and Ginny set off quickly, not stopping to apologize as they plowed into people.  
As Harry started after them, Ron seized his elbow.  
"Where's Seamus?" he whispered.  
Harry shook his head. "No time to find out. Let's go."  
They took off, trying to catch up to the girls, which proved exceedingly difficult, despite the fact that Amanda and Ginny kept stumbling as their heels sunk into indents in the grass.  
The sight of Faith had evoked a kind of desperate fear inside Harry that he couldn't quite explain. It was almost as if all of the fears and horrors that had taken place so far that year were concentrated into that one girl.  
"Oh, these things are useless!" Amanda cried, ripping off her high heels.  
Ginny looked down at her own shoes. "You know," she said vehemently, "you have a point, Amanda." She unbuckled her own, and picked up the hem of her dress so it wouldn't drag.  
Harry gaped at her. This certainly was not the Ginny he remembered.  
Amanda turned on them, glaring.  
"If you stand there like idiots all day, we're never going to reach her," she snapped. "Honestly!"   
She turned and bustled off, Ginny in close pursuit.  
Harry and Ron hung back, bent almost double with their hands on their knees. Harry was clutching a stitch in his side, and Ron was gasping for air.  
"Damn," Ron said, wiping his sweaty brow. "Those heels were the only thing slowing them down."  
"They can have a bit of an attitude, can't they?" Harry said, straightening up painfully  
Ron nodded, looking over at Harry. Harry suddenly saw his eyes widen to twice their normal size.  
"What is it Ron?" he asked, turning to look behind himself.  
Seamus was glaring down at him.  
Harry caught his surprised gasp in his throat.  
"Hi Seamus," he said in a would-be-calm voice.  
"Where did she go?" he demanded.  
Harry glanced at Ron.  
"Where did who go?" Ron asked.  
"Jessica," Seamus spat. "I asked her to wait for me."  
Harry suddenly noticed a small black something clutched in Seamus' fist.  
Pretending to be tying his shoe, he bent over. Sure enough, it was the same box that he and Ron had found in the dormitory. Seamus looked down and saw what he was doing. He took an immediate step back, shoving the small package into his pocket.  
"Potter!" he said, staring at him with wild eyes. "What are you doing?"  
Harry straightened up, his expression icy.  
"You just called me 'Potter'," he said slowly.  
"I did not," he spat, "I called you Harry. You must not have heard me correctly."  
"Give it up, Seamus," Ron said, glaring at him. "We know what you have in your pocket and we know what you plan on doing with it. If you think you're going to get away with it..."  
Seamus suddenly shoved his hand into his other pocket and came out with his wand. Harry and Ron jumped back.  
"Alright," he said quietly, "So you know. What do you plan on doing about it?"  
"We plan on stopping you," Harry said angrily.  
Seamus let out a high cold laugh that didn't suit him at all.  
"Fools," he whispered. "You can't stop me. Don't you realize that yet?"  
Ron leapt forward, knocking the wand out of Seamus' hand. It rolled a few feet away across the grass. Seamus jumped to pick it up, but Ron seized him around the middle and knocked him over.  
"Get it, Harry!" Ron yelled, struggling to hold him down.  
Harry dived on the wand and pocketed it.  
"What is all this!?"  
Professor McGonagall was hurrying over, wearing a dark purple dress decorated with an extraordinary amount of glitter and a matching hat.  
Ron quickly rolled off of Seamus.  
"Nothing," Harry said quickly, stepping in front of the wreckage.  
"Stand aside," she commanded. Her eyes flashed over Ron who was sporting a bloody nose, Seamus who was straightening up behind him with a black eye, and Harry with two wands sticking out of his pocket.   
"Both of you," she said, her nostrils flaring, "come with me."  
It took him a moment for Harry to realize that she was speaking to him and Ron.  
"Professor, I..."  
"You don't understand! We..."  
"I don't want to hear it," she snapped. "Of all things, I never thought a Gryffindor would embarrass the school in this manner! Now come with me or the punishment will become much more severe."  
She strode off toward the castle.  
"See you later," Seamus said softly. "I'll tell Jessica that you said hi."   
"Potter! Weasley! Come along, NOW!"  
Ron called Seamus something that Harry was sure he wouldn't want McGonagall to hear.  
"We've got to stop him," Harry said quietly as he and Ron hurried to catch up with her.  
"What can we do?" Ron asked desperately.  
Harry swallowed a large lump that was forming in his throat.  
"Tell McGonagall." 


End file.
